South Carolina Republican Representative Jeff Duncan wasn't fooling anyone when he criticized President Joe Biden for withdrawing from Afghanistan following the agreement created by Mike Pompeo under the direction of former Republican President Donald Trump.
That might be because Duncan's gone on record praising the Trump withdrawal accord in the past.
But on August 16—as United States troops worked to maintain the security perimeter around the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul—Duncan changed his tune.
He tweeted:
"Even MSM [mainstream media] condemns @POTUS [President Biden's] reckless withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan as a 'fiasco' and 'debacle,' calling the accelerating crisis and the Taliban's takeover as 'Biden's Saigon.'
"The world is watching as the horror unfolds."
"This is on you, @POTUS."
\u201cWhere is the president?\u201d \nEven MSM condemns @POTUS reckless withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan as a "fiasco" and "debacle," calling the accelerating crisis and the Taliban\u2019s takeover as \u201cBiden\u2019s Saigon."\nThe world is watching as the horror unfolds. \nThis is on you, @POTUShttps://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1427281071549337600\u00a0\u2026— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@Rep. Jeff Duncan) 1629136079
Duncan's statement is an about-face from remarks he issued just four months ago.
In tweets on April 14, Duncan praised Biden for deciding to stick to former President Donald Trump's plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
At the time, Duncan offered Biden his "support and appreciation":
"I try to give credit where credit is due, and in that spirit, if Joe Biden follows through on his commitment to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan this year, he will do so with my support and appreciation."
"Pres[ident] Trump deserves tremendous credit for getting us to this point, and Joe Biden will deserve credit if he can take this last and final step."
"Endless wars and using our military as an international police force is not in our country's best interest."
and @JoeBiden will deserve credit if he can take this last and final step. Endless wars and using our military as an international police force is not in our country's best interest.— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@Rep. Jeff Duncan) 1618429201
But Duncan also appeared to take an entirely different approach to foreign intervention last month, as the world followed ongoing civil strife in Cuba.
On July 27, he recommended Biden take a definitive stance and aid Cubans who are "fighting for their God-given liberties & freedom from communist government."
As former chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs, my committee handled Cuba policy. \n\nBiden should make the US policy known we are with the Cuban people fighting for their God-given liberties & freedom from communist government. \n\n#SOSCuba #CubaLibrepic.twitter.com/5Gfpdzl8d2— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@Rep. Jeff Duncan) 1627393995
Duncan was criticized and his past tweets resurfaced.
pic.twitter.com/23nDs2ndn2— dawn (@dawn) 1629140533
this you, Duncan?https://twitter.com/RepJeffDuncan/status/1382418381568106498?s=20\u00a0\u2026— Stephens (@Stephens) 1629140579
Also Jeff Duncan:https://twitter.com/RepJeffDuncan/status/1382418381568106498\u00a0\u2026— Matt Dominick (@Matt Dominick) 1629141205
Given Duncan's contradictory statements on Afghanistan and foreign intervention, others suggested his outrage is merely performative.
I love how hollow and temporary all this new \u201coutrage\u201d sounds.— Margi MacMurdo\ud83e\udd81\ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83c\udfa8 \ud83e\udd14\ud83d\uddff (@Margi MacMurdo\ud83e\udd81\ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83c\udfa8 \ud83e\udd14\ud83d\uddff) 1629140599
Wow, you've changed your position on this. How soon y'all forget. WE REMEMBER.— Paws \ud83d\udc3e (@Paws \ud83d\udc3e) 1629141659
Wow what a difference a year makes!!\nHow do they all not have whiplash?— Susie, Fully Vaxxed, Still Masked (@Susie, Fully Vaxxed, Still Masked) 1629141575
Disingenuous much?— A. J. (@A. J.) 1629141634
The blowback against Duncan brings to mind the scrutiny experienced by Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert.
In tweets this week, Boebert slammed the Biden administration, evoking the memory of the American withdrawal from Vietnam when the North Vietnamese took Saigon in 1975.
However, many were quick to point out Boebert's record on Afghanistan has not been supportive, let alone altruistic.
Last month, Boebert was among the lawmakers who voted against H.R. 3985, the Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs Act of 2021.
The legislation, otherwise referred to as the ALLIES Act, passed the House by a vote of 407-16. It increases the number of immigration visas available to Afghan citizens who have helped U.S. soldiers during the 20-year conflict.
President Biden, for his part, defended his administration's response.
In a speech yesterday, the President said the U.S. mission in Afghanistan was never intended "to have been nation building."
He said when it began it had been about "preventing a terrorist attack on the American homeland" and was "never supposed to be creating a unified centralized democracy."
