Trump Appears to Condemn Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal Ahead of Holyfield-Belfort Fight

Rather than visiting ground zero with other former presidents, Donald Trump is spending the 20th anniversary of 9/11 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The 45th president is at the venue to provide live commentary for the Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort fight; but in true Trump fashion, he used his time at the mic to take aim at his successor/political rival Joe Biden.

Prior to the main event, Trump was asked to share his thoughts on the Sept. 11 attacks and what the anniversary meant to him. Trump briefly touched on the anniversary, before condemning Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. The former president, who also pushed to pull troops out of the region, made some vague comments about “some very bad decisions,” and then referenced the 13 U.S. service members who were killed at the Kabul airport before the full withdrawal.

“Well, as a country—the United States—this is certainly one of the most important days. We had a very bad week because of some very bad decisions that were made,” he said. “It made it even more somber than it should normally be. I will tell you, we love our country and we’re going to do great things for our country, and our country is going to come back. We should’ve never allowed to happen what happened in Afghanistan with 13 great warriors and many people injured and many people killed in this final few days and it was just a shame. But we’re a great country and we’re going to make a comeback like nobody has ever seen before.”

Trump made similar comments in a video statement published Saturday, saying the country “will struggle to recover from the embarrassment this incompetence has caused.”

“The leader of our country was made to look like a fool, and that can never be allowed to happen,” he said in the message posted by his Save America PAC. “It was caused by bad planning, incredible weakness and leaders who truly didn’t understand what was happening.”

The crowd at Saturday’s boxing match was overwhelmingly team Trump. Videos from the event show audience members waving “Trump 2024” flags while chanting, “We love Trump.”

As expected, 44-year-old Belfort defeated 58-year-old Holyfield with a first-round KO. Trump said Holyfield, who had not been in the ring in over a decade, was clearly “not the same fighter” we had known him to be. 

“We said from the first minute you could see immediately that that was not Evander. There was no snap,” he continued. “It’s so unusual to see because we have watched him for a big part of our lives just win.”

In a post-match interview, Holyfield reflected on the factors that may have led to his loss. The boxing legend was standing alongside 50 Cent, who suggested he return to the ring with Mike Tyson.

“You don’t look like you’re hurt,” Fif told Holyfield. “Would you be interested in maybe you and Mike doing something a little later?”

“Of course I would,” Holyfield replied.