Most Americans Blame Biden For Mismanaging Afghanistan Crisis: Poll

Most Americans blame President Joe Biden for mishandling the situation in Afghanistan, but a majority also believe him when he says all Americans remaining in the country will be evacuated.

What Happened: According to a new Hill-HarrisX poll of more than 2,800 adults conducted between Aug. 20-23, 52% of respondents said Biden’s decision to send U.S. troops back to coordinate the ongoing evacuations was evidence of Biden’s incompetent management of the crisis, while 23% said it wasn't an indication that he's mishandling the situation and 26% were unsure.

However, 58% of respondents said they trusted the president’s promise to bring home Americans still stranded in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan by his self-declared Aug. 31 deadline, while 42% said they did not believe his promise.

In an interview with Hill.TV, HarrisX CEO and Chief Pollster Dritan Nesho questioned the White House’s efforts to distance itself from the perception that its policies created the ongoing chaos at Kabul Airport.

“It’s hard for the administration to argue with the facts on the ground, and a majority of voters view the return of thousands of more soldiers into Afghanistan than there were before the evacuation as a clear indication of the mismanagement of the exit from the country by the Biden administration,” Nesho said.

Nesho also recalled the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba that damaged the credibility of the Kennedy administration, noting that Biden’s ability to keep his promise on an evacuation “will be key to the final public opinion verdict on whether this event a is a 'Pig' or a 'Piglet' in terms of the scope of this foreign policy debacle.”

Related Link: Exiled Afghan Central Bank Chief Warns Taliban Will Wreck Economy — But Will Crypto Keep The Regime Afloat?

What Else Happened: While the U.S. government is trying to pull its citizens out of Afghanistan, the Chinese government is welcoming the Taliban’s ascension to power.

Taliban spokesman Dr. M. Naeem tweeted a photograph of a Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi, deputy head of the political bureau of the Taliban’s new government, with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, meeting in Kabul with Wang Yu, China’s ambassador to Afghanistan.

“During the meeting, they discussed the security of the Chinese embassy and diplomats, the current situation in Afghanistan, bilateral relations and China's humanitarian assistance,” Naeem tweeted.

The Global Times, a newspaper backed by the Chinese Communist Party, is talking up the prospects of increased economic activity between the two countries, with coverage that claimed the “situation in Afghanistan has undergone great changes in the past few days, and some experts said Chinese businesses can provide support for the country's much needed reconstruction, from building roads to providing educational support and solving employment problems.”

Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons.