Trump Uses Buffalo Shooting To Bizarrely Boast That He 'Lost Nobody' In Afghanistan

A mass shooting in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York on Saturday resulted in the deaths of 10 people and injuries to 3 more.

Police determined the crime was targeting Black people. The FBI has said they will be investigating it as a hate crime and "racially motivated violent extremism."

After another act of domestic terrorism, people expect leaders to denounce the motivations for the violence—in this case White nationalism and White supremacy.

Former President Donald Trump decided rather than acknowledging the tragic deaths in Buffalo or denouncing some of the racist rhetoric he helped spread, he should take the opportunity to boast about the US' war in Afghanistan.

Trump told a crowd in Austin, Texas:

"I think they had a tragic event in Buffalo, just as I'm coming on the stage, tragic event in Buffalo with numerous people being killed."

He continued with with the seeming non sequitur:

"In 18 months in Afghanistan, we lost nobody."

It is unclear which 18-month period Trump was referring to. Attempts to reach out to his post-presidency office for clarification were unsuccessful.

You can see a video clip Trump's confusing comments below.

Whether Trump was referring to the period between February 2020 and August 2021 (8 months of which Joe Biden was President), or to the last 18 months of his own presidency, the claim that no service members died is—at best—misleading.

USA Today debunked the claims the August 26, 2021 suicide bombing attack that killed 13 service members was the first time in 18 months any US military personnel died in Afghanistan. There were 4 recorded deaths during that time period, though none in combat.

Additionally, during the final 18 months of Trump's presidency, 22 service members were reported killed.

Representative Ted Lieu of California, a Democrat and colonel in the Air Force Reserve Command, called Trump out via tweet in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Lieu tweeted:

"This is a ridiculous comparison by the former President."

"Also, Trump is a liar and disrespects the 64 brave US servicemembers who died under his watch in Afghanistan by ignoring their deaths in his statement: 11 in 2020; 24 in 2019; 14 in 2018; 15 in 2017."

Twitter was highly critical of Trump's latest false claim.

Trump went on to brag about his conversations with the leader of the Taliban.

That boast was also debunked.

Trump was so quick to jump to congratulating himself for his imagined successes he failed to express any sympathy for those who were killed or injured in Buffalo.

He also forgot to denounce White nationalist and White supremacist extremism and violence.