Republican Brady Duke, a Christian minister and former Navy SEAL sniper, running in Florida’s Seventh Congressional District, told Breitbart News Saturday that President Joe “Biden’s been wrong on every major foreign policy and national security issue for nearly four decades,” including Afghanistan.
As the country approaches the one-year anniversary of the United States pulling its resources out of Afghanistan, days after the terrorist attack claimed the lives of 13 services members while injuring several others, Duke declared that “Biden’s been wrong on every major foreign policy and national security issue for nearly four decades.”
“We’ve seen this just blatant in the ‘Afghan retreat,'” Duke said. “I have an issue with calling it an ‘Afghan withdrawal’ because, simply put, if you can’t, if you’re standing on the battlefield with your enemy, and you turn your back and run, you’re retreating, you’re not withdrawing.”
When discussing the lives lost over the years and seeing the withdrawal happen, he acknowledged that it is “devastating” for the United States but also “for our relationship with our allies. And the relationship that we formed with the people of Afghanistan. And this is devastating for the veterans. You know, veterans I talk to, this has made us sick to our stomach. It has caused many to just, you know, almost go speechless.”
“You talk to anybody here in town that – even without any military experience – and they can tell you some basic steps that should have been taken, that were not taken by this administration and under this leadership,” Duke added. “It’s really devastating to see the life that was lost there to try and do what was right, to stand up against terrorism, and to ensure that we could remain free. But now this is, you know, another hotbed for terrorists…We’ve got to hold this administration accountable.”
Following the killing of former al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, Afghanistan, where a U.S. airstrike eliminated him last weekend, Duke stated that it was a “win,” but overall, “is largely a loss for the people of Afghanistan. And it’s still a loss, I think, for the national security of our country.”
The Republican candidate also stated that he is “very concerned” about the national security threat in the United States after a report from a whistleblower alleged that Biden’s federal agencies knowingly resettled almost 400 Afghans listed as “potential threats to national security” across the United States in the last year.
Especially when you “pair [the resettling of “potential threats” across the counrty] with the southern border issue,” he added.
“There have been terrorist issues with our southern border for years and years. And so this is a real threat,” he explained. “People in this community here locally are actually, you know, security and safety’s coming up as I’m talking to people while I’m knocking on doors, I’m doing events in town. People are growing more and more concerned with their personal safety, and there’s no way that the Taliban didn’t know about this al Qaeda leader, as you said, walking around in broad daylight.”
“Truly, I think we’ve got to know that we can trust the people in leadership,” Duke continued. “I think the fight for our country really is a fight to restore virtue and moral courage to the leadership because if we can’t trust those who are leading our country, I don’t know how much hope we have to see the restoration we longed for… But we have a lack of trust for those in leadership.”
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.