President Donald Trump renewed his call for the Taliban to return American military equipment left behind in Afghanistan, arguing that continued U.S. aid to the country should be contingent on the retrieval of billions of dollars worth of hardware.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, Trump said he rebuilt the U.S. military during his first term but lamented that some of the equipment was left behind in Afghanistan, where it has since fallen into Taliban hands.
“We have a great, you know, I rebuilt our entire military in the first term,” he said. “We left a lot of it, although a lot of it, but very small, relatively, in Afghanistan.
The Taliban has it. You know, they have their parade every year where they take our military vehicles and run them up some little street, and like it’s their form of a military parade, and it makes me angry when I see that. Angry. When I see that, I get angry.”
Trump also claimed that the U.S. continues to provide Afghanistan with significant financial assistance.
“You know, we give them—I don’t think anyone knows this—we give Afghanistan about two or two and a half billion dollars a year. Do you know that? For aid, aid,” he said. “We need aid ourselves.”
He then suggested that U.S. aid should be tied to the return of American military equipment now in Taliban possession.
“I want to look at it, but if we’re going to give them money, it’s okay. But I want them to give us back our military equipment that they have,” Trump said. “They’re selling it.”
Addressing an aide in the audience, Trump urged action.
“Doug, would you take that, please? All right. Write something up,” he said.
Trump reiterated that the Taliban has a range of American military hardware.
“No, I want them to give back. If we’re going to give them that kind of money, let them give back the military equipment, which they have,” he said. “They have tanks and trucks and guns and goggles. They have goggles. They have night goggles. Better than we have. Brand new, right out of the box. It’s unbelievable.”
He then restated his demand.
“So I want to do that, and I want the—if we’re going to pay them, I want to get that equipment back, okay?” Trump said.
Pointing to an attendee, he added: “Doug can do it. He’s one of the guys. He’s a business guy.”
Expressing frustration, Trump questioned how the situation had unfolded.
“They hear me sitting here saying, ‘How the hell did this ever happen?’ Right? Can you believe it?” he said. “We gave them billions of dollars and we gave them our military equipment. Just tremendous numbers of billions of dollars’ worth of—billions and billions.”
The U.S. completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending a 20-year war. While much of the military equipment left behind was disabled or destroyed, some vehicles and weapons fell into Taliban hands. The Biden administration has maintained that advanced systems were either evacuated or rendered inoperable before the withdrawal.
Trump, who was inaugurated for a second term in January 2025, has frequently criticized the withdrawal, calling it “disastrous” and blaming the previous administration for what he describes as a poorly executed exit. Now back in office, he has once again revived the issue, demanding the return of U.S. military equipment from Afghanistan.
