John Bolton said Donald Trump 'fully supported' withdrawing from Afghanistan and would have done so if reelected, despite criticizing Biden for the decision

• John Bolton said there was no difference between Trump's and Biden's position on Afghanistan.
• Bolton was Trump's national security adviser between 2018 and 2019.
• Trump has criticized Biden over Afghanistan but Bolton said he "fully supported" troop withdrawal.

Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton said there was no difference between Trump and President Joe Biden's position on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, despite Trump calling on Biden to "resign in disgrace" over the emerging crisis in the country.

Trump has been fiercely critical of his successor since Taliban forces captured most of Afghanistan in a matter of weeks following Biden's decision in April to withdraw remaining US troops from the country.

Bolton, who served as national security adviser under Trump between 2018 and 2019, said that despite Trump's criticism of the president he had actually supported withdrawal himself, comparing the pair to "Tweedledum and Tweedledee."

Asked whether the withdrawal had been a mistake, Bolton told CNN Tuesday: "There are two mistakes at work here. The first is the strategic mistake of withdrawing, which Biden made but which Trump fully supported. Had Trump been re-elected, he'd be doing the same thing. On this question of withdrawal from Afghanistan, Trump and Biden are like Tweedledee and Tweedledum."

He said that Biden bore primary responsibility for the way in which US troops had been withdrawn following chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as Afghans attempted to flee the country and the US scrambled to evacuate diplomats and other citizens.

"The second question though is: Did the withdrawal occur in the best possible way? And the answer to that is no. It's been a catastrophe and it's only going to get worse.

"I think Biden does bear primary responsibility for that, though you see now fingers being pointed saying Trump didn't leave us with any plans. We'll have to see how that shakes out."

Trump this week claimed that his administration would have handled the situation better. Trump in April had called Biden's plan to pull troops from Afghanistan a "wonderful and positive thing to do."

On Monday, he issued a series of statements blasting Biden for his handling of the withdrawal.

"First Joe Biden surrendered to COVID, and it has come roaring back. Then he surrendered to the Taliban, who has quickly overtaken Afghanistan and destroyed confidence in American power and influence," Trump said in a statement.

"The outcome in Afghanistan, including the withdrawal, would have been totally different if the Trump Administration had been in charge. Who or what will Joe Biden surrender to next? Someone should ask him, if they can find him."

Trump's former Defense Secretary Mark Esper also suggested this week that Trump had mishandled the situation in Afghanistan during his own presidency by undermining a conditional deal between the US government and the Taliban struck in 2020.

Esper said that Trump had continued to pull troops out of Afghanistan despite the Taliban not upholding its end of the deal.