Chris Cuomo points out hypocrisy of Republicans slamming Biden over Afghan refugees

On Cuomo Prime Time Tuesday, Chris Cuomo called out the hypocrisy of congressional Republicans who are going after President Biden for leaving Afghanistan while U.S. allies remain in the country. Potentially thousands of interpreters and others who worked with the U.S. during the 20-year war are now stuck in the country, and could be targeted by the Taliban.

While Cuomo agrees with the sentiment many Republicans are now voicing about this, he couldn’t help but point out that many of those in the GOP supported former President Trump’s sudden decision to pull out of Syria in 2019, abandoning the Kurds who fought ISIS alongside the U.S. military. Kurds in northern Syria have since repeatedly been the victims of war crimes. Cuomo also questioned why so many Republicans supported Trump’s deal with the Taliban in early 2020, which was the precursor to the events of the last month.

“Right-wingers are now pleading the case of refugees, while many condemn those fleeing persecution south of our border. And even now, some try to scare folks by saying Biden wants to bring millions of Afghans here,” Cuomo said. “But if they really care, why did 60 of them refuse to condemn Trump when he abandoned our Kurdish allies to withdraw forces from Syria? Why didn't they go after this deal with the Taliban?”

Cuomo also pointed out that the same Republicans blaming Biden are ignoring the fact that the Trump administration was found responsible for illegally delaying Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans who worked with the United States, which left Biden with a backlog of more than 17,000 SIV applicants when he took office. Many also voted against speeding up the SIV process.

“It was pretty much the same group that voted against speeding up visas for Afghans fleeing the Taliban. You do remember that, right?” Cuomo asked. “You do remember that the Trump administration, with the tacit approval of these people, if not outright approval, made it harder for people to get visas. It was part of his designed Muslim ban.”

Cuomo Prime Time airs weeknights at 9 p.m. on CNN.

Watch an American citizen trapped in Afghanistan react to the U.S. withdrawal: 'How will they help me now?':

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