Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Lauren Boebert jokes about Afghans falling from US plane

Taking aim at Joe Biden, she said the Taliban were the only people ‘building back better’

Maroosha Muzaffar
Tuesday 17 August 2021 09:28 EDT
Comments
Related video: Desperate Afghans climb onto plane during takeoff as crowds try to flee Taliban

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Republican representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado is facing a massive backlash online for her insensitive joke about Afghans who fell off a US military plane on Monday in their desperation to get out of the strife-torn country.

In a tweet, accompanying the video of hundreds of Afghan men swarming a US military plane as it taxied on the runway, Ms Boebert said: “At least they won’t have to read mean tweets.”

Reports said that several men fell to their deaths after the plane took off.

She also appeared to root for the Taliban that took control of Afghanistan two days ago by saying that the militant group was “building back better.”

Taking aim at president Joe Biden, she tweeted: “The Taliban are the only people building back better.”

Ms Boebert’s “joke” angered many who accused the congresswoman of having no spine and one even asked her to delete her account.

Some social media users also dug out her February tweet in which she called out Mr Biden for delaying the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. She had said: “We need to end the endless wars.”

One user called Ms Boebert “Taliban’s new press secretary” while another said that “the only war she ever fought was against America.”

On Monday, President Biden addressed the nation from the White House and said he stood “squarely behind” his decision. “After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces,” he said.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in