Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination took part in a Fox News town hall Tuesday in Iowa, less than six weeks out from the state’s GOP caucuses.
The occasion, conducted before an audience in Davenport, unfolded as a pre-recorded hour-long interview led by Fox’s Sean Hannity. Throughout the hour, the former president asserted various claims, delving into topics spanning from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to his criminal indictments.
President Trump’s claim that $85 billion worth of the “best military equipment” was left behind during the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is inaccurate. The Defense Department estimates that the abandoned military equipment, provided by the U.S. to Afghan forces, was valued at approximately $7.1 billion. This figure is part of the overall $18.6 billion worth of equipment provided to Afghan forces between 2005 and 2021. Furthermore, some of the equipment left behind was intentionally rendered inoperable before the U.S. forces withdrew. Republican presidential nomination
The $85 billion mentioned by Trump is a rounded-up figure (closer to $83 billion) representing the total amount of money appropriated by Congress during the war for a fund supporting the Afghan security forces. It’s important to note that only a minority of this funding was allocated for equipment, debunking the claim of $85 billion worth of military equipment left behind.