President Joe Biden again walked away from White House reporters asking him questions about thousands of Americans still stranded in Afghanistan on Monday.
The president delivered a speech at the White House about the coronavirus vaccine getting full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, urging everyone to get vaccinated.
He did not mention the crisis in Afghanistan once in his speech and left without taking questions.
“Do you know how many Americans are left in Afghanistan sir?” one reporter asked as Biden walked away.
He did not stop to respond to the question.
The Biden administration still can not put a number on the Americans stuck in the country.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he was unwilling to go into detail, even as the administration promises they are getting more Americans out of the country.
When asked by reporters if he was being intentionally vague, Kirby replied, “I’m just going to leave it at several thousand.”
Afghan people wait to board a U S military aircraft to leave Afghanistan, at the military airport in Kabul on August 19, 2021 after Taliban’s military takeover of Afghanistan. (Photo by Shakib RAHMANI / AFP) (Photo by SHAKIB RAHMANI/AFP via Getty Images)
It is unclear whether or not Biden can get all Americans out of Afghanistan before the August 31 deadline for withdrawal.
“The president believes we are making substantial progress,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, adding they were consulting the Taliban on “every aspect” of the evacuation process.