Trump says Osama bin Laden 'only had one hit' while boasting about ISIS leader and Iranian general killed under his orders

• Trump during an interview with Hugh Hewitt said Osama bin Laden "only had one hit."
• The former president was boasting about the ISIS leader and Iranian general who were killed under his watch.
• "The founder of ISIS is bigger by many, many times, al-Baghdadi, than Osama bin Laden," Trump said.

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the infamous terrorist leader Osama bin Laden "only had one hit," in a reference to the 9/11 terror attacks that killed 2,977 people in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.

While discussing the Taliban in relation to the evolving crisis in Afghanistan during an interview with Hugh Hewitt, Trump boasted about the operations during his tenure that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

"You know, we got al-Baghdadi of ISIS, and he was trying to rebuild ISIS. And when I took over, ISIS was all over the place, Hugh. It was all over the place. And then I got a certain general who was fantastic," Trump said.

"ISIS is tougher than the Taliban, and nastier than the Taliban. And ISIS was watching, and then they were, they didn't exist anymore. And we took out the founder of ISIS, al-Baghdadi, and then of course Soleimani. Now just so you understand, Soleimani is bigger by many, many times than Osama bin Laden," Trump went on to say.

"The founder of ISIS is bigger by many, many times, al-Baghdadi, than Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden had one hit, and it was a bad one, in New York City, the World Trade Center," Trump added. "But these other two guys were monsters. They were monsters. And I kept saying for years why aren't they getting them? For years, I said it. I got them. The press doesn't talk about it. They don't talk about it because they don't want to talk about it. You talk about it a little bit."

In addition to the September 11 attacks, bin Laden helped plan the 1998 bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed over 200 people, and the attack on the USS Cole, which left 17 U.S. Navy sailors dead.

The former president's remarks came just weeks before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. They also came as the US effort to finalize the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has involved the evacuation of thousands of people, has become increasingly chaotic. At least 13 US service members were killed in ISIS-K attacks outside the Kabul airport on Thursday, and 18 more were wounded. Dozens of Afghans were also killed and wounded.

Trump brokered a deal with the Taliban to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by May. Biden largely stuck to the deal, but extended the timeline. The former president and many Republicans have lambasted Biden over his handling of the withdrawal, while often ignoring the fact that Trump laid the groundwork for the pullout.

Since the Taliban entered Kabul in mid-August, effectively cementing their control of the country, there's been a desperate scramble to evacuate thousands of Americans and Afghans from the country. The Biden administration has acknowledged that it was caught off guard by the rapid pace at which the Taliban regained control of the country. Biden has faced bipartisan criticism over his handling of the withdrawal.

In remarks on Thursday evening regarding the attacks in Kabul, Biden said, "We are outraged and heartbroken."

The president said that those responsible would be hunted down. "We will hunt you down and make you pay," Biden said.