Sen. Blackburn to Newsmax: Biden Used 'America Last' Stance With Afghanistan

President Joe Biden's steps have meant "America last" on all issues, including on the way he's handled the exit from Afghanistan, Sen. Marsha Blackburn told Newsmax Thursday.

"One of the things we have to do is call for accountability from this administration," the Tennesee Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "When you look at the steps Joe Biden has taken, it has been America last every step of the way."

Even before the situation in Afghanistan, Biden's decisions have put the United States behind at every juncture, "whether it is nixing the Keystone pipeline, or favoring China, or the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate accords," said Blackburn.

In addition, the growing inflation after Biden took office is affecting all Americans, because they have "less money that they are able to spend on the things they need for their families," said Blackburn.

The fact that critical race theory is now being taught in most schools, is another issue, as are the lockdowns and mandates that have come in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic, said Blackburn.

"And then, of course, there is Afghanistan," said Blackburn. "When you look at the polling numbers of how they have handled Afghanistan, it has led them to say Joe Biden is weak. We have left Americans behind enemy lines. We do not do that. We are the United States of America and we do not leave people behind enemy lines."

Blackburn also said Thursday that Biden was saying "one thing to his inner circle" about knowing there were problems coming in Afghanistan but another thing to the public, denying that the Taliban would be taking over.

"They took this group that was an ideology, we have to remember," said Blackburn. "We were fighting the war on terror and now they have turned [Afghanistan] over to them."

But Biden and his administration saw that the Taliban was going to win, and the president told former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that he had to "tell people things are going better than they are. He was basically asking Ghani to lie to the allies, to the Afghan people, and to us," said Blackburn.

"Joe Biden was saying one thing to the American people and quite another thing to Ghani because they knew the country was in trouble," she said. "They should have listened to the CIA. They pulled their people out from their stations six weeks prior, telling them this is not good, the Taliban is moving. They are going to take control."

Blackburn also said she's "very disappointed" in the way Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have handled the troop withdrawals and said they should "step aside."

However, she said that they also should level with Americans because they need to know what happened.

"How could they not have said 'this is not a wise move' to go for a date-certain exit rather than a conditions-based exit?" said Blackburn, referring to the plans former President Donald Trump and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had negotiated with NATO allies and the United States' Afghan partners.

"But of course, no, they wanted to do it a different way," she said. "My question is, did you tell the president this is a bad move? Did you stand up to him? Did you speak truth to power?"

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