National Defense
‘We Want That Base Back’: Trump Says US Working To Take Back Massive Air Base Abandoned in Afghanistan
Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. is trying to regain an Afghanistan airfield abandoned during former President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from the nation.
Trump told reporters during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that his administration was trying to “get back” the airbase, which was formerly the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan during the two-decade occupation. The airbase was taken by the Taliban in 2021 after the U.S. ceded control to local Afghan forces, who surrendered without a fight and allowed the Taliban to free many of the organization’s strongest fighters.
“We’re trying to get it back…we want that base back,” Trump said during the press conference “One of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, that it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”
BREAKING: Trump:
We are trying to get the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan back.
That base is an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons. pic.twitter.com/GuNmbGo8KD
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 18, 2025
The Taliban has attempted to normalize its relationship with the U.S. after the withdrawal in 2021. It is currently unclear how the U.S. will go about regaining the base.
White House Envoy Adam Boehler reportedly met with the Taliban in March to secure the release of George Glezmann, an American hostage. The meeting was the first U.S. contact with the Islamist group since the Fall of Kabul in 2021.
The Taliban said that their meeting with Boehler included talks to “develop bilateral relations between the two countries, issues related to citizens, and investment opportunities in Afghanistan,” according to Fox News.
The withdrawal from Afghanistan under Biden was widely criticized for causing the deaths of hundreds of civilians and 13 U.S. service members.
The Pentagon deferred to the White House, which did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Jason Cohen contributed to this report.
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