Trump uses Buffalo mass shooting to make misleading boast

Fresno CA

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"In 18 months in Afghanistan, we lost nobody," the former president continued in an apparent non-sequitur. He went on to talk about negotiating with Abdul Ghani Baradar — the co-founder of the Taliban. Trump's claim that nobody died in Afghanistan during 18 months of his presidency is misleading. It's not clear which 18-month period Trump was referring to. Insider reached out to Trump's post-presidency office for clarification but received no response. There were four US deaths recorded in Afghanistan during that period, according to the Pentagon's casualty tracking system, per USA Today, though not in combat situations. Eight of those months were during President Joe Biden's time in office. If Trump was referring to the last 18 months of his presidency, a period between July 2019 and January 2021, this is also factually incorrect. In 2020, 11 military deaths were recorded in Afghanistan. Throughout the final 18 months of Trump's presidency, a total of 22 US service members were reported dead in Afghanistan. "This is a ridiculous comparison by the former President," Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California, an Air Force Reserve Command colonel, wrote. "Also, Trump is a liar and disrespects the 64 brave US service members who died under his watch in Afghanistan by ignoring their deaths in his statement: 11 in 2020; 24 in 2019; 14 in 2018; 15 in 2017." Trump couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it.