{"id":664760,"date":"2021-08-20T07:22:09","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T11:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=664760"},"modified":"2021-08-20T07:22:14","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T11:22:14","slug":"abc-news-appears-to-have-not-aired-900-words-from-biden-during-interview-on-gma-here-they-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abc-news-appears-to-have-not-aired-900-words-from-biden-during-interview-on-gma-here-they-are\/","title":{"rendered":"ABC News Appears To Have Not Aired 900+ Words From Biden During Interview On GMA. Here They Are."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fabc-news-appears-to-have-not-aired-900-words-from-biden-during-interview-on-gma-here-they-are%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=664760&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/JBS.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>ABC News\u2019s \u201cGood Morning America\u201d appears to have not aired nearly a thousand words from Democrat President Joe Biden\u2019s interview with host George Stephanopoulos, according to a review of a transcript published by the network and a review of the footage that it aired.<\/p>\n<p>The interviews comes as the administration faces an absolute debacle in Afghanistan that was precipitated by Biden\u2019s chaotic pullout from the nation. Biden has avoided answering questions from reporters during two brief sets of remarks that he gave to the media this week and he has spent a significant portion of time during this crisis on vacation in Delaware, where his administration refuses to disclose who he meets with.<\/p>\n<p>A review comparing the <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/full-transcript-abc-news-george-stephanopoulos-interview-president\/story?id=79535643\">transcript<\/a> released by ABC News to video footage aired on live television on Thursday by ABC News on \u201cGood Morning America\u201d and to video footage published by the show on its YouTube channel show that a significant portion of Biden\u2019s remarks, a little over 900 words on a variety of topics related to Afghanistan, were not aired.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the remarks that were not aired are inconsequential to the interview, like when Biden thanks Stephanopoulos for the interview. ABC News could have withheld parts of the footage due to time constraints, however, many of the instances in which Biden\u2019s remarks were not aired appear to be negative moments where he struggled.<\/p>\n<p>The following are the most significant parts of the interview that do not appear to have aired (a full transcript and both video clips published on the \u201cGood Morning America\u201d YouTube channel are featured toward the bottom of this report) with words in <strong>bold font<\/strong> not being included in video footage aired by the network.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PART 1:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"15\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Let\u2019s get right to it.<\/strong> Back in July, you said a Taliban takeover was highly unlikely. Was the intelligence wrong, or did you downplay it?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>I think<\/strong> \u2014 there was no consensus. If you go back and look at the intelligence reports, they said that it\u2019s more likely to be sometime by the end of the year. <strong>The idea that the tal \u2014 and then it goes further on, even as late as August. I think you\u2019re gonna see \u2014 the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and others speaking about this later today.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>PART 2:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"28\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>I\u2013 I think a lot of\u2013 a lot of Americans, and a l\u2013 even a lot of veterans who served in Afghanistan agree with you on the big, strategic picture. They believe we had to get out. But I wonder how you respond to an Army Special Forces officer, Javier McKay (PH). He did seven tours. He was shot twice. He agrees with you. He says, \u201cWe have to cut our losses in Afghanistan.\u201d But he adds, \u201cI just wish we could\u2019ve left with honor.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Look, that\u2019s like askin\u2019 my deceased son Beau, who spent six months in Kosovo and a year in Iraq as a Navy captain and then major\u2013 I mean, as an Army major. And, you know, I\u2019m sure h\u2013 he had regrets comin\u2019 out of Afganista\u2013 I mean, out of Iraq.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>He had regrets to what\u2019s\u2013 how\u2013 how it\u2019s going. But the idea\u2013 what\u2019s the alternative? The alternative is why are we staying in Afghanistan? Why are we there? Don\u2019t you think that the one\u2013 you know who\u2019s most disappointed in us getting out? Russia and China. They\u2019d love us to continue to have to\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>PART 3:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"38\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: So you don\u2019t think this could\u2019ve been handled, this exit could\u2019ve been handled better in any way? No mistakes?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No. I\u2013 I don\u2019t think it could\u2019ve been handled in a way that there\u2013 we\u2013 we\u2019re gonna go back in hindsight and look, but the idea that somehow there\u2019s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don\u2019t know how that happens. I don\u2019t know how that happened.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: So for you, that was always priced into the decision?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Yes. Now, exactly what happened\u2013 is not priced in. But I knew that they\u2019re gonna have an enormous, enorm\u2013 look, one of the things we didn\u2019t know is what the Taliban would do in terms of trying to keep people from getting out, what they would do. <strong>What are they doing now? They\u2019re cooperating, letting American citizens get out, American personnel get out, embassies get out, et cetera. But they\u2019re having\u2013 we\u2019re having some more difficulty in having those who helped us when we were in there\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>And we don\u2019t really know what\u2019s happening outside of Kabul.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Pardon me?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>We don\u2019t really know what\u2019s happening outside of Kabul.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Well\u2013 we do know generically and in some specificity what\u2019s happening outside of Kabul. We don\u2019t know it in great detail. But we do know. And guess what? The Taliban knows if they take on American citizens or American military, we will strike them back like hell won\u2019t have it.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>PART 4:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"21\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: How about our Afghan allies? <strong>We have about 80,000 people\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Well, that\u2019s not the s\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Is that too high?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>That\u2019s too high.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>How many\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>The estimate we\u2019re giving is somewhere between 50,000 and 65,000 folks total, counting their families.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>PART 5:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"57\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>You talked about our adversaries, China and Russia. You already see China telling Taiwan, \u201cSee? You can\u2019t count on the Americans.\u201d (LAUGH)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Sh\u2013 why wouldn\u2019t China say that? Look, George, the idea that w\u2013 there\u2019s a fundamental difference between\u2013 between Taiwan, South Korea, NATO. We are in a situation where they are in\u2013 entities we\u2019ve made agreements with based on not a civil war they\u2019re having on that island or in South Korea, but on an agreement where they have a unity government that, in fact, is trying to keep bad guys from doin\u2019 bad things to them.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>We have made\u2013 kept every commitment. We made a sacred commitment to Article Five that if in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies, we would respond. Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with\u2013 Taiwan. It\u2019s not even comparable to talk about that.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Yeah, but those\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>It\u2019s not comparable to t\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>\u2013who say, \u201cLook, America cannot be trusted now, America does not keep its promises\u2013\u201c<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Who\u2013 who\u2019s gonna say that? Look, before I made this decision, I met with all our allies, our NATO allies in Europe. They agreed. We should be getting out.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Did they have a choice?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Sure, they had a choice. Look, the one thing I promise you in private, NATO allies are not quiet. You remember from your old days. They\u2019re not gonna be quiet. And so\u2013 and by the way, you know, what we\u2019re gonna be doing is we\u2019re gonna be putting together a group of the G-7, the folks that we work with the most\u2013 to\u2013 I was on the phone with\u2013 with Angela Merkel today. I was on the phone with the British prime minister. I\u2019m gonna be talking to Macron in France to make sure we have a coherent view of how we\u2019re gonna deal from this point on.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>PART 6:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"42\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: How about the threat to the United States? Most intelligence analysis has predicted that Al Qaeda would come back 18 to 24 months after a withdrawal of American troops. Is that analysis now being revised? Could it be sooner?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: It could be. But George, look, here\u2019s the deal. Al Qaeda, ISIS, they metastasize. There\u2019s a significantly greater threat to the United States from Syria. There\u2019s a significantly greater threat from East Africa. There\u2019s significant greater threat to other places in the world than it is from the mountains of Afghanistan. And we have maintained the ability to have an over-the-horizon capability to take them out. We\u2019re\u2013 we don\u2019t have military in Syria to make sure that we\u2019re gonna be protected\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: And you\u2019re confident we\u2019re gonna have that in Afghanistan?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Yeah. I\u2019m confident we\u2019re gonna have the overriding capability, yes.<strong> Look, George, it\u2019s like asking me, you know, am I confident that people are gonna act even remotely rationally. Here\u2019s the deal.<\/strong> The deal is the threat from Al Qaeda and their associate organizations is greater in other parts of the world to the United States than it is from Afghanistan.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: And&nbsp;that tells you that you\u2019re\u2013 it\u2019s safe to leave?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No. That tells me that\u2013 <strong>my dad used to have an expression, George. If everything\u2019s equally important to you, nothing\u2019s important to you.<\/strong> We should be focusing on where the threat is the greatest. And <strong>the threat<\/strong>\u2014 the idea\u2013 we can continue to spend $1 trillion and have tens of thousands of American forces in Afghanistan when we have <strong>what\u2019s going on around the world, in the Middle East and North Africa and west\u2013 I mean, excuse me\u2013 yeah,<\/strong> North Africa and Western Africa. The idea we can do that and ignore <strong>those\u2013<\/strong> those looming problems, growing problems, is not\u2013 not rational.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>PART 7:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"61\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: It sounds like you think we shoulda gotten out a long time ago\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: We should\u2019ve.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: \u2013and\u2013 and accept the idea that it was gonna be messy no matter what.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Well, by the\u2013 what would be messy?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: The exit\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: If we had gotten out a long time ago\u2013 getting out would be messy no matter when it occurred. <strong>I ask you, you want me to stay, you want us to stay and send your kids back to Afghanistan? How about it? Are you g\u2013 if you had a son or daughter, would you send them in Afghanistan now? Or later?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Would be hard, but a lot of families have done it.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>They\u2019ve done it because, in fact, there was a circumstance that was different when we started. We were there for two reasons, George. And we accomplished both ten years ago. We got Osama bin Laden. As I said and got criticized for saying at the time, we\u2019re gonna follow him to the gates of hell. Hell, we did\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>How will history judge the United States\u2019 experience in Afghanistan?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>One that we overextended what we needed to do to deal with our national interest. That\u2019s like my sayin\u2019 they\u2013 they\u2019re\u2013 they\u2013 they b\u2013 b\u2013 the border of Tajikistan\u2013 and\u2013 other\u2013 what\u2013 does it matter? Are we gonna go to war because of what\u2019s goin\u2019 on in Tajikistan? What do you think?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Tell me what\u2013 where in that isolated country that has never, never, never in all of history been united, all the way back to Alexander the Great, straight through the British Empire and the Russians, what is the idea? Are we gonna s\u2013 continue to lose thousands of Americans to injury and death to try to unite that country? What do you think? I think not.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>I think the American people are with me. And when you unite that country, what do you have? They\u2019re surrounded by Russia in the north or the Stans in the north. You have\u2013 to the west, they have Iran. To the south, they have Pakistan, who\u2019s supporting them. And to the\u2013 and\u2013 actually, the east, they have Pakistan and China. Tell me. Tell me. Is that worth our national interest to continue to spend another $1 trillion and lose thousands more American lives? For what?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>START OF TRANSCRIPT (FULL INTERVIEW\/VIDEO CLIPS BELOW):<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"345\">\n<p><em>GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Mr. President, thank you for doing this.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: <strong>Thank you for doin\u2019 it.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Let\u2019s get right to it.<\/strong> Back in July, you said a Taliban takeover was highly unlikely. Was the intelligence wrong, or did you downplay it?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>I think<\/strong> \u2014 there was no consensus. If you go back and look at the intelligence reports, they said that it\u2019s more likely to be sometime by the end of the year. <strong>The idea that the tal \u2014 and then it goes further on, even as late as August. I think you\u2019re gonna see \u2014 the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and others speaking about this later today.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>But<\/strong> you didn\u2019t put a timeline on it when you said it was highly unlikely. You just said flat out, \u201cIt\u2019s highly unlikely the Taliban would take over.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Yeah. Well, the question was whether or not it w\u2013 the idea that the Taliban would take over was premised on the notion that the \u2014 that somehow, the 300,000 troops we had trained and equipped was gonna just collapse, they were gonna give up. I don\u2019t think anybody anticipated that.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>But you know that Senator McConnell, others say this was not only predictable, it was predicted, including by him, based on intelligence briefings he was getting.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>What \u2014 what did he say was predicted?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator McConnell said it was predictable that the Taliban was gonna take over.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Well, by the end of the year, I said that\u2019s that was \u2014 that was a real possibility. But no one said it was gonna take over then when it was bein\u2019 asked.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>So<\/strong> when you look at what\u2019s happened over the last week, was it a failure of intelligence, planning, execution or judgment?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Look, I don\u2019t think it was a fa\u2013 look, it was a simple choice, George. When the\u2013 when the Taliban \u2014 let me back \u2014 put it another way. When you had the government of Afghanistan, the leader of that government get in a plane and taking off and going to another country, when you saw the significant collapse of the ta\u2013 of the\u2013 Afghan troops we had trained \u2014 up to 300,000 of them just leaving their equipment and taking off, that was \u2014 you know, I\u2019m not\u2013 this \u2014 that \u2014 that\u2019s what happened.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>That\u2019s simply what happened. So the question was in the beginning the\u2013 the threshold question was, do we commit to leave within the timeframe we\u2019ve set? We extended it to September 1st. Or do we put significantly more troops in? I hear people say, \u201cWell, you had 2,500 folks in there and nothin\u2019 was happening. You know, there wasn\u2019t any war.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>But guess what? The fact was that the reason it wasn\u2019t happening is the last president negotiated a year earlier that he\u2019d be out by May 1st and that\u2013 in return, there\u2019d be no attack on American forces. That\u2019s what was done. That\u2019s why nothing was happening. But the idea if I had said \u2014 I had a simple choice. If I had said, \u201cWe\u2019re gonna stay,\u201d then we\u2019d better prepare to put a whole hell of a lot more troops in \u2014<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: But your top military advisors warned against withdrawing on this timeline. They wanted you to keep about 2,500 troops.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No, they didn\u2019t. It was split. Tha\u2013 that wasn\u2019t true. That wasn\u2019t true.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: They didn\u2019t tell you that they wanted troops to stay?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No. Not at \u2014 not in terms of whether we were going to get out in a timeframe all troops. They didn\u2019t argue against that.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: So no one told \u2014 your military advisors did not tell you, \u201cNo, we should just keep 2,500 troops. It\u2019s been a stable situation for the last several years. We can do that. We can continue to do that\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No. No one said that to me that I can recall. Look, George, the reason why it\u2019s been stable for a year is because the last president said, \u201cWe\u2019re leaving. And here\u2019s the deal I wanna make with you, Taliban. We\u2019re agreeing to leave if you agree not to attack us between now and the time we leave on May the 1st.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>I got into office, George.<\/strong> Less than two months after I elected to office, I was sworn in, all of a sudden, I have a May 1 deadline. I have a May 1 deadline. I got one of two choices. Do I say we\u2019re staying? And do you think we would not have to put a hell of a lot more troops? We had\u2013 you know, we had hundreds\u2013 we had tens of thousands of troops there before. Tens of thousands.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Do you think we woulda \u2014 that we would\u2019ve just said, \u201cNo problem. Don\u2019t worry about it, we\u2019re not gonna attack anybody. We\u2019re okay\u201d? In the meantime, the Taliban was takin\u2019 territory all throughout the country in the north and down in the south, in the Pasthtun area.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: So would you have withdrawn troops like this even if President Trump had not made that deal with the Taliban?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: I would\u2019ve tried to figure out how to withdraw those troops, yes, because look, George. There is no good time to leave Afghanistan. Fifteen years ago would\u2019ve been a problem, 15 years from now. The basic choice is am I gonna send your sons and your daughters to war in Afghanistan, in Afghanistan, in perpetuity?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: That\u2019s\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No one can name for me a time when this would end. And what\u2013 wha\u2013 wha\u2013 what\u2013 what constitutes defeat of the Taliban? What constitutes defeat? Would we have left then? Let\u2019s say they surrender like before. OK. Do we leave then? Do you think anybody\u2013 the same people who think we should stay would\u2019ve said, \u201cNo, good time to go\u201d? We spent over $1 trillion, George, 20 years. There was no good time to leave.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: But if there\u2019s no good time, if you know you\u2019re gonna have to leave eventually, why not have th\u2013 everything in place to make sure Americans could get out, to make sure our Afghan allies get out, so we don\u2019t have these chaotic scenes in Kabul?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Number one, as you know, the intelligence community did not say back in June or July that, in fact, this was gonna collapse like it did. Number one.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: They thought the Taliban would take over, but not this quickly?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: But not this quickly. Not even close. We had already issued several thousand passports to the\u2013 the SIVs, the people\u2013 the\u2013 the\u2013 the translators when I came into office before we had negotiated getting out at the end of a\u2013 August.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Secondly, we\u2019re in a position where what we did was took precautions. That\u2019s why I authorized that there be 6,000 American troops to flow in to accommodate this exit, number one. And number two, provided all that aircraft in the Gulf to get people out. We pre-positioned all that, anticipated that. Now, granted, it took two days to take control of the airport. We have control of the airport now.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: Still a lotta pandemonium outside the airport.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Oh, there is. But, look, b\u2013 but no one\u2019s being killed right now, God forgive me if I\u2019m wrong about that, but no one\u2019s being killed right now. People are\u2013 we got 1,000-somewhat, 1,200 out, yesterday, a couple thousand today. And it\u2019s increasing. We\u2019re gonna get those people out.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: But we\u2019ve all seen the pictures. We\u2019ve seen those hundreds of people packed into a C-17. You\u2019ve seen Afghans falling\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: That was four days ago, five days ago.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: What did you think when you first saw those pictures?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: What I thought was we ha\u2013 we have to gain control of this. We have to move this more quickly. We have to move in a way in which we can take control of that airport. And we did.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>I\u2013 I think a lot of\u2013 a lot of Americans, and a l\u2013 even a lot of veterans who served in Afghanistan agree with you on the big, strategic picture. They believe we had to get out. But I wonder how you respond to an Army Special Forces officer, Javier McKay (PH). He did seven tours. He was shot twice. He agrees with you. He says, \u201cWe have to cut our losses in Afghanistan.\u201d But he adds, \u201cI just wish we could\u2019ve left with honor.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Look, that\u2019s like askin\u2019 my deceased son Beau, who spent six months in Kosovo and a year in Iraq as a Navy captain and then major\u2013 I mean, as an Army major. And, you know, I\u2019m sure h\u2013 he had regrets comin\u2019 out of Afganista\u2013 I mean, out of Iraq.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>He had regrets to what\u2019s\u2013 how\u2013 how it\u2019s going. But the idea\u2013 what\u2019s the alternative? The alternative is why are we staying in Afghanistan? Why are we there? Don\u2019t you think that the one\u2013 you know who\u2019s most disappointed in us getting out? Russia and China. They\u2019d love us to continue to have to\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: So you don\u2019t think this could\u2019ve been handled, this exit could\u2019ve been handled better in any way? No mistakes?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No. I\u2013 I don\u2019t think it could\u2019ve been handled in a way that there\u2013 we\u2013 we\u2019re gonna go back in hindsight and look, but the idea that somehow there\u2019s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don\u2019t know how that happens. I don\u2019t know how that happened.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: So for you, that was always priced into the decision?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Yes. Now, exactly what happened\u2013 is not priced in. But I knew that they\u2019re gonna have an enormous, enorm\u2013 look, one of the things we didn\u2019t know is what the Taliban would do in terms of trying to keep people from getting out, what they would do. <strong>What are they doing now? They\u2019re cooperating, letting American citizens get out, American personnel get out, embassies get out, et cetera. But they\u2019re having\u2013 we\u2019re having some more difficulty in having those who helped us when we were in there\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>And we don\u2019t really know what\u2019s happening outside of Kabul.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Pardon me?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>We don\u2019t really know what\u2019s happening outside of Kabul.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Well\u2013 we do know generically and in some specificity what\u2019s happening outside of Kabul. We don\u2019t know it in great detail. But we do know. And guess what? The Taliban knows if they take on American citizens or American military, we will strike them back like hell won\u2019t have it.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: All troops are supposed to be out by August 31st. Even if Americans and our Afghan allies are still trying to get out, they\u2019re gonna leave?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: We\u2019re gonna do everything in our power to get all Americans out and our allies out.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: Does that mean troops will stay beyond August 31st if necessary?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: It depends on where we are and whether we can get\u2013 ramp these numbers up to 5,000 to 7,000 a day coming out. If that\u2019s the case, we\u2019ll be\u2013 they\u2019ll all be out.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: \u2018Cause we\u2019ve got, like, 10,000 to 15,000 Americans in the country right now, right? And are you committed to making sure that the troops stay until every American who wants to be out\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Yes.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: \u2014 is out?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Yes.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: How about our Afghan allies? <strong>We have about 80,000 people\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Well, that\u2019s not the s\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Is that too high?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>That\u2019s too high.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>How many\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>The estimate we\u2019re giving is somewhere between 50,000 and 65,000 folks total, counting their families.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: Does the commitment hold for them as well?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: The commitment holds to get everyone out that, in fact, we can get out and everyone that should come out. And that\u2019s the objective. That\u2019s what we\u2019re doing now, that\u2019s the path we\u2019re on. And I think we\u2019ll get there.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: So Americans should understand that troops might have to be there beyond August 31st?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No. Americans should understand that we\u2019re gonna try to get it done before August 31st.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: But if we don\u2019t, the troops will stay\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: If \u2014 if we don\u2019t, we\u2019ll determine at the time who\u2019s left.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: And?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: And if you\u2019re American force \u2014 if there\u2019s American citizens left, we\u2019re gonna stay to get them all out.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>WATCH PART I:<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Biden says he did not see a way to withdraw from Afghanistan without &#039;chaos ensuing&#039; l GMA\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i2nwusq_WcM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>TRANSCRIPT CONTINUES:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"189\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>You talked about our adversaries, China and Russia. You already see China telling Taiwan, \u201cSee? You can\u2019t count on the Americans.\u201d (LAUGH)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Sh\u2013 why wouldn\u2019t China say that? Look, George, the idea that w\u2013 there\u2019s a fundamental difference between\u2013 between Taiwan, South Korea, NATO. We are in a situation where they are in\u2013 entities we\u2019ve made agreements with based on not a civil war they\u2019re having on that island or in South Korea, but on an agreement where they have a unity government that, in fact, is trying to keep bad guys from doin\u2019 bad things to them.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>We have made\u2013 kept every commitment. We made a sacred commitment to Article Five that if in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies, we would respond. Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with\u2013 Taiwan. It\u2019s not even comparable to talk about that.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Yeah, but those\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>It\u2019s not comparable to t\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>\u2013who say, \u201cLook, America cannot be trusted now, America does not keep its promises\u2013\u201c<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Who\u2013 who\u2019s gonna say that? Look, before I made this decision, I met with all our allies, our NATO allies in Europe. They agreed. We should be getting out.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Did they have a choice?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>Sure, they had a choice. Look, the one thing I promise you in private, NATO allies are not quiet. You remember from your old days. They\u2019re not gonna be quiet. And so\u2013 and by the way, you know, what we\u2019re gonna be doing is we\u2019re gonna be putting together a group of the G-7, the folks that we work with the most\u2013 to\u2013 I was on the phone with\u2013 with Angela Merkel today. I was on the phone with the British prime minister. I\u2019m gonna be talking to Macron in France to make sure we have a coherent view of how we\u2019re gonna deal from this point on.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: What happens now in Afghanistan? Do you believe the Taliban have changed?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No. I think\u2013 let me put it this way. I think they\u2019re going through sort of an existential crisis about do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government. I\u2019m not sure they do. But look, they have\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: They care about their beliefs more?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Well, they do. But they also care about whether they have food to eat, whether they have an income that <strong>they can provide for their f\u2013 that they<\/strong> can make any money and run an economy. They care about whether or not they can hold together the society that they in fact say they care so much about.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I\u2019m not counting on any of that. <strong>I\u2019m not cou\u2013<\/strong> but that is part of what I think is going on right now in terms of I\u2013 I\u2019m not sure I would\u2019ve predicted, George, nor would you or anyone else, that when we decided to leave, that they\u2019d provide safe passage for Americans to get out.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: Beyond Americans, what do we owe the Afghans who are left behind, particularly Afghan women who are facing the prospect of subjugation again?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: As many as we can get out, we should. For example, I had a meeting today for a couple hours in the Situation Room just below here. There are Afghan women outside the gate. I told \u2019em, \u201cGet \u2019em on the planes. Get them out. Get them out. Get their families out if you can.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>But here\u2019s the deal, George. The idea that we\u2019re able to deal with the rights of women around the world by military force is not rational. Not rational. Look what\u2019s happened to the Uighurs in western China. Look what\u2019s happening in other parts of the world.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Look what\u2019s happenin\u2019 in, you know, in\u2013 in the Congo. I mean, there are a lotta places where women are being subjugated. The way to deal with that is not with a military invasion. The way to deal with that is putting economic, diplomatic, and <strong>national pre\u2013<\/strong> international pressure on them to change their behavior.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: How about the threat to the United States? Most intelligence analysis has predicted that Al Qaeda would come back 18 to 24 months after a withdrawal of American troops. Is that analysis now being revised? Could it be sooner?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: It could be. But George, look, here\u2019s the deal. Al Qaeda, ISIS, they metastasize. There\u2019s a significantly greater threat to the United States from Syria. There\u2019s a significantly greater threat from East Africa. There\u2019s significant greater threat to other places in the world than it is from the mountains of Afghanistan. And we have maintained the ability to have an over-the-horizon capability to take them out. We\u2019re\u2013 we don\u2019t have military in Syria to make sure that we\u2019re gonna be protected\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: And you\u2019re confident we\u2019re gonna have that in Afghanistan?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Yeah. I\u2019m confident we\u2019re gonna have the overriding capability, yes.<strong> Look, George, it\u2019s like asking me, you know, am I confident that people are gonna act even remotely rationally. Here\u2019s the deal.<\/strong> The deal is the threat from Al Qaeda and their associate organizations is greater in other parts of the world to the United States than it is from Afghanistan.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: And&nbsp;that tells you that you\u2019re\u2013 it\u2019s safe to leave?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: No. That tells me that\u2013 <strong>my dad used to have an expression, George. If everything\u2019s equally important to you, nothing\u2019s important to you.<\/strong> We should be focusing on where the threat is the greatest. And <strong>the threat<\/strong>\u2014 the idea\u2013 we can continue to spend $1 trillion and have tens of thousands of American forces in Afghanistan when we have <strong>what\u2019s going on around the world, in the Middle East and North Africa and west\u2013 I mean, excuse me\u2013 yeah,<\/strong> North Africa and Western Africa. The idea we can do that and ignore <strong>those\u2013<\/strong> those looming problems, growing problems, is not\u2013 not rational.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Final question on this. You know,<\/strong> in a couple weeks, we\u2019re all gonna commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9\/11. The Taliban are gonna be ruling Afghanistan, just l\u2013 like they were when our country was attacked. How do you explain that to the American people?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Not true. It\u2019s not true. They\u2019re not gonna look just like they were we were attacked. There was a guy named Osama bin Laden that was still alive and well. They were organized in a big way, that they had significant help from <strong>arou\u2013<\/strong> from other parts of the world.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We went there for two reasons, George. Two reasons. One, to get Bin Laden, and two, to wipe out as best we could, and we did, the Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We did it. Then what happened? Began to morph into the notion that, instead of having a counterterrorism capability to have small forces there in\u2013 or in the region to be able to take on Al Qaeda if it tried to reconstitute, we decided to engage in nation building. In nation building. That never made any sense to me.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: It sounds like you think we shoulda gotten out a long time ago\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: We should\u2019ve.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: \u2013and\u2013 and accept the idea that it was gonna be messy no matter what.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Well, by the\u2013 what would be messy?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: The exit\u2013<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: If we had gotten out a long time ago\u2013 getting out would be messy no matter when it occurred. <strong>I ask you, you want me to stay, you want us to stay and send your kids back to Afghanistan? How about it? Are you g\u2013 if you had a son or daughter, would you send them in Afghanistan now? Or later?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>WATCH PART II:<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Biden says new Taliban regime is going through an \u2018existential crisis\u2019 l GMA\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U66F3k96Y1M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>TRANSCRIPT CONTINUES:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"44\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>Would be hard, but a lot of families have done it.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>They\u2019ve done it because, in fact, there was a circumstance that was different when we started. We were there for two reasons, George. And we accomplished both ten years ago. We got Osama bin Laden. As I said and got criticized for saying at the time, we\u2019re gonna follow him to the gates of hell. Hell, we did\u2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: <strong>How will history judge the United States\u2019 experience in Afghanistan?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: <strong>One that we overextended what we needed to do to deal with our national interest. That\u2019s like my sayin\u2019 they\u2013 they\u2019re\u2013 they\u2013 they b\u2013 b\u2013 the border of Tajikistan\u2013 and\u2013 other\u2013 what\u2013 does it matter? Are we gonna go to war because of what\u2019s goin\u2019 on in Tajikistan? What do you think?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Tell me what\u2013 where in that isolated country that has never, never, never in all of history been united, all the way back to Alexander the Great, straight through the British Empire and the Russians, what is the idea? Are we gonna s\u2013 continue to lose thousands of Americans to injury and death to try to unite that country? What do you think? I think not.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>I think the American people are with me. And when you unite that country, what do you have? They\u2019re surrounded by Russia in the north or the Stans in the north. You have\u2013 to the west, they have Iran. To the south, they have Pakistan, who\u2019s supporting them. And to the\u2013 and\u2013 actually, the east, they have Pakistan and China. Tell me. Tell me. Is that worth our national interest to continue to spend another $1 trillion and lose thousands more American lives? For what?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>REMAINDER OF TRANSCRIPT WAS ON COVID-19:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"28\">\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: I know we\u2019re outta time. I have two quick questions on COVID. I know you\u2019re gonna make\u2013 be makin\u2019 an announcement on booster shots today. Have you and the first lady gotten your booster shots yet?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: We\u2019re gonna get the booster shots. And\u2013 it\u2019s somethin\u2019 that I think\u2013 you know, because we g\u2013 w\u2013 we got our shots all the way back in I think December. So it\u2019s\u2013 it\u2019s\u2013 it\u2019s past time. And so the idea (NOISE) that the recommendation\u2013 that\u2019s my wife calling. (LAUGH) No. (LAUGH) But all kiddin\u2019 aside, yes, we will get the booster shots.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: And\u2013 and finally\u2013 are you comfortable with Americans getting a third shot when so many millions around the world haven\u2019t had their first?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Absolutely because we\u2019re providing more to the rest of the world than all the rest of the world combined. We got enough for everybody American, plus before this year is\u2013 before we get to the middle of next year, we\u2019re gonna provide a half a billion shots to the rest of the world. We\u2019re keepin\u2019 our part of the bargain. We\u2019re doin\u2019 more than anybody.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. President, thanks for your time.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BIDEN: Thank you.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i><span>member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ABC News\u2019s \u201cGood Morning America\u201d appears to have not aired nearly a thousand words from Democrat President Joe Biden\u2019s interview with host George Stephanopoulos, according to a review of a &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-664760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}