BAGRAM AIRBASE, AFGHANISTAN – President Trump surprised American troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving after leaving his Florida residence overnight in an undisclosed plane Trump few from Florida to Joint Base Andrews. The White House travel press pool was strictly instructed to be lip bound on the President’s trip to Afghanistan. The embargo was placed on the media until President Trump delivered his speech.
He visited Bagram Air Base on Thursday, delivering Thanksgiving greetings to U.S. troops deployed there in America’s longest-running war. This is Trump’s second visit to a combat zone. Previously he visited troops in Iraq the day after Christmas in 2018.
During his address to the troops, the President announced renewed peace talks between America and the Taliban, saying the Taliban wants “to make a deal.”
“We’ll see if they want to make a deal,” he said. “It’s got to be a real deal, but we’ll see. But they want to make a deal. And they only want to make a deal because you are doing a great job. That is the only reason they want to make a deal. So I want to thank you and I want to thank the Afghan soldiers for — I’ve spoken to a lot of you today and you say they are really fighting hard. I was impressed with that actually. So I want to thank you.”
Trump has long wanted to withdraw from Afghanistan, and his visit coincides with the Afghan government’s engagement in an extended stalemate with the Taliban.
“There is nowhere that I’d rather celebrate this Thanksgiving than right here with the toughest, strongest, best, and bravest warriors on the face of the Earth. You are indeed that,” Trump added.
He continued, “When I took office, if you can believe it almost three years ago, we were very much depleted. Our military was depleted in terms of equipment. You see, right? They’re all shaking their heads. We have all those brand new planes and brand new helicopters and brand new ships being built now, brand new powerful submarines.”
He continued, “When I took office, if you can believe it almost three years ago, we were very much depleted. Our military was depleted in terms of equipment. You see, right? They’re all shaking their heads. We have all those brand new planes and brand new helicopters and brand new ships being built now, brand new powerful submarines.”
After President Trump delivered his thanksgiving speech to around 1500 U.S. troops present in an hangar at the Bagram Airbase, he departed back for America.
The White House senior officials were handed back their cell phones after President Trump took off in Airforce One. It was a long flight from U.S. to Afghanistan, but as President Trump put in words: “There is nowhere that I’d rather celebrate this Thanksgiving than right here with the toughest, strongest, best, and bravest warriors on the face of the Earth. You are indeed that.”
Exclusive News Report by: KANWAL ABID is a staff journalist at the AZB, White House Correspondent and Bureau Chief, Washington D.C.
Tweets @KANWALanalyst
