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Joe Biden fumes at query over Afghans falling to death from USAF jets: 'That was four days ago'

Biden snapped at George Stephanopoulos during recent interview over the Afghanistan catastrophe and pushed the blame on Ashraf Ghani for Kabul's downfall.

President Joe Biden spoke to ABC News's George Stephanopoulos on August 18 about the Afghanistan crisis and the comments he made are being viewed as insensitive. Biden also pushed the blame of Kabul's capture on the country's President Ashraf Ghani who fled on a helicopter with $169 million in state funds. Biden said according to intelligence reports, the national capital wasn't supposed to fall to the Taliban until December if it wasn't for Ghani fleeing. 

Biden has been constantly criticized since US troops were withdrawn from Bagram airbase in July. The Afghan fiasco came to head after Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15. Biden was on vacation at Camp David while it happened and his decision to continue being on holiday after addressing the nation on the unfolding crisis had left many Americans seething with anger.

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Biden's assurance during a July 6 press conference that the military withdrawal wouldn't lead to a Saigon-like situation came back to bite him after US embassy officials were evacuated in a helicopter after the Taliban breach. Fast forward to Wednesday, August 18, his chat with Stephanopoulos has resulted in fresh problems for himself after he snapped back when being asked about the Afghans falling from the USAF jet while trying to escape the country. 

'That was four days ago' Biden says of Afghans falling from planes

Biden is standing behind his decision of complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and said there was nothing that could be done to avoid the chaos that ensued. Videos of people running on the airport tarmac to escape the country, reports saying Afghan girls and women were in danger of being raped by Taliban fighters, and other reports of brutalities across the crisis-torn nation threatened the USA's credibility. However, one of the biggest highlights of this fiasco has been the people who were being filmed falling to their deaths from the engines of the USAF jet and the whole world is talking about it. 

Everywhere people have raised fingers at the disorganized evacuations, many still reeling from the horrifying footage of people falling the jets, but Biden seemed to have put the matter behind him already. "That was four days ago, five days ago," he said in the interview even though pictures of the same emerged on August 16. Biden's comments have not gone down well with certain Americans who have taken to Twitter to lash out at him for the same. 

"It was 2 days ago.... I get it though, sometimes when you're on vacation you lose track of time," read a sarcastic tweet. "Shame on him, shame on his voters, but most of all, shame on his supporters nowadays," another angry user tweeted. "The best think about the disaster unfolding in Afghanistan and Biden's role in the fiasco is that it guarantees a Republican takeover of the House and Senate in 2022 and the White House in 2024," noted another user. "I suppose if I were sleeping most of the days away like Biden, I might not realize the difference between 5 days and 2. But I wouldn't pretend 5 days or 2 would make a difference on the insanity/ immorality of leaving 10-20,000 Americans and 1,000s on their own in Afghanistan," another angry tweet read.