Manchin: Biden’s Refusal to Admit Mistake in Afghanistan Makes You Wonder If It Was Intentional

During an interview with CBS’s “The Takeout” podcast released on Friday, Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) wondered why the Biden administration can’t admit it made a mistake with Afghanistan and said, “When you make a mistake and you can’t own up to it, then that means, did you make it intentionally then, since you don’t think it’s a mistake?”

While discussing Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy, Manchin said, [relevant remarks begin around 10:25] “[W]hen they said, do you support everything that was done? I’m on the team. I’m number two. This is not my gameplan. I didn’t put the gameplan out. I didn’t call the play, okay? Would I do it different? Absolutely. I would do it different. But while I’m there, I’m trying to make that president — my president and my partner as successful as possible. So, if you’re blaming me for being on the team, I’m guilty as charged. But if she doesn’t say that, hey, would you change anything, would you say, let’s don’t leave Afghanistan this way, let’s don’t give Bagram Air Force Base away the way we did, let’s not do the border, we’ve never given asylum at the border? There [are] some things that we should do differently. If you had that input and you got overruled, you’re still the team. But can’t you say when you’re on your own now, yes, I would have done it different, and here’s how?”

Later, he stated, [relevant remarks begin around 31:40] “As human beings, in this wonderful, free country of ours, you can’t make wrong right. We’ve all tried. … Why they can’t just say, I made a mistake, I’m sorry, I can fix that. When you make a mistake and you can’t own up to it, then that means, did you make it intentionally then, since you don’t think it’s a mistake? That [sows] doubts.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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