Trump tries to tie rival Harris to chaotic Afghanistan exit

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump used the third anniversary on Monday of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan to try to pin the chaotic pullout on his Democratic rival for the White House, Kamala Harris.

Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery honouring the 13 servicemembers killed during the US exit, then later in Detroit blamed Harris, the vice-president, and President Joe Biden for what he termed a "catastrophic" withdrawal.

"Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all over the world," Trump said in an address to the National Guard Association of the United States.

It was the latest attempt by Trump and his campaign to raise doubts about Harris' fitness to serve as commander-in-chief as the November 5 election draws near and comes after Harris last week proclaimed herself ready to lead the nation's armed forces.

The US troop pullout and evacuation of US and allied officials, citizens and Afghans at risk of Taliban retribution saw crowds of desperate Afghans trying to enter Kabul airport and men clinging to aircraft as they taxied down runways in August 2021.

A Daesh suicide bomber killed 13 US servicemembers and more than 150 Afghans outside an airport gate.

Harris' campaign said the fault lay with Trump's tenure as president.

"The Biden-Harris administration inherited a mess from Donald Trump," said Ammar Moussa, a Harris spokesperson. "Trump wants America to forget that he had four years to get out of Afghanistan, but failed to do it."

A review released by the US State Department in 2023 found fault with both the Trump and Biden administrations in the run-up to the withdrawal.

In recent weeks, Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, also have sought to turn Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz's decades of service into a political vulnerability. Former military service is often a key selling point for candidates in US political campaigns.

The Republicans have accused Walz of exaggerating his rank in the Army National Guard, where he served for 24 years. Walz has described himself as a retired command sergeant major, one of the highest noncommissioned officer positions in the Army. While he achieved that rank, he did not meet the requirements to retire with that title.

The Harris campaign deleted a reference this month to Walz's rank as a "command sergeant major" on its website. The campaign also now says Walz "misspoke" in 2018 during his gubernatorial campaign in Minnesota when he referred to "weapons of war, that I carried in war." Walz was never deployed to a war zone.

Trump, 78, never served in the military. Though he was of draft age during the Vietnam War, he received four student deferments and a health-related one after he received a diagnosis for bone spurs in his feet.

“I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world,” Harris said.