Trump to Nation After Terrorist Attack on NG in D.C.: Afghans Who Came in Under Biden Must Be Re-Vetted

President Trump addressed the country after a close-range ambush near the White House that left two West Virginia National Guard members critically wounded, and he demanded a full re-examination of Afghan arrivals brought in under the Biden administration. He framed the attack as a terrorist act that exposed broader national security failures, announced additional troop deployments to protect the capital, and insisted on accelerated removal of anyone in the country who does not belong here.

The president gave a brief, direct statement on Thanksgiving Eve that combined condolences, outrage, and policy orders. He emphasized the gravity of the assault and the need to act decisively to protect the Capitol and the nation. Trump connected the suspect’s arrival to flights from Afghanistan in 2021 and labeled that policy a catastrophic failure. The speech was short but forceful in laying responsibility at the feet of the previous administration.

My great fellow Americans. Earlier today, on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, two members of the National Guard serving in Washington, D.C. were shot at point-blank range in a monstrous, ambush-stye attack just steps away from the White House.

They’d been deputized as part of the most successful public safety and national security mission in the history of our nation’s Capitol. The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which has achieved an unprecedented reduction in violent crime and crimes of all types.

Trump called the assault “heinous” and “an act of terror,” making clear this was not just an attack on service members but on the nation. He offered prayers and national sympathy for the wounded Guardsmen and their families. The president vowed the perpetrator would face “the steepest price” while also pointing to broader immigration and vetting failures that he says enabled the incident. That link to policy failures drove much of the address.

This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred, and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity. The hearts of all Americans tonight are with those two members of the West Virginia National Guard and their families. The love of our entire country is pouring out for them, and we are lifting them up in our prayers.

According to the president, the suspect was flown in during evacuation flights from Afghanistan in September 2021 and had status extended afterward. Trump used that fact to call for a nationwide re-vetting of anyone who entered from Afghanistan under Biden’s programs. He portrayed those flights and the broader intake of unvetted arrivals as an unprecedented security risk that must be addressed immediately.

As we are filled with anguish and grief for those who were shot, we’re also filled with righteous anger and ferocious resolve. As President of the United States, I am determined to ensure that the animal that perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest possible price.

I can report tonight that based on the best available information, the Department of Homeland Security is confident that the suspect in custody is a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan, a hellhole on earth. He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021, on those infamous flights that everyone was talking about. Nobody knew who was coming in, nobody knew anything about it. His status was extended under legislation signed by President Biden. A disastrous president, the worst in the history of our country.

Trump broadened his critique to include the last administration’s overall border and immigration policies, arguing those choices left the country exposed. He accused prior officials of allowing millions of unvetted entrants and warned that no country can endure such unchecked risk. The speech veered into a sharp cultural critique as well, citing issues he attributes to immigrant communities in certain states and tying those problems to national security concerns.

This attack underscores the single, greatest national security threat facing our nation. The last administration let in 20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners from all over the world. From places that you don’t want to even know about. No country can tolerate a risk to our very survival.

An example is Minnesota, where hundreds of thousands of Somalians are ripping off our country and ripping apart that once great state. Billions of dollars are lost, and gangs of Somalians come from a country that doesn’t even have a government. No laws, no water, no military, no nothing. As their representatives in our country preach to us about our Constitution and how our country is no good.

The president ordered immediate action: re-examine every Afghan who arrived under the prior administration and remove any alien who does not belong here. He framed the directive as protecting law and order and standing with the service members who were attacked while on duty. Trump also reaffirmed that the nation will not yield to terror and will continue to protect those on the front lines of security missions in the capital.

We’re not going to put up with these kind of assaults on law and order by people who shouldn’t even be in our country. We must now re-examine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country. If they can’t love our country we don’t want them.

America will never bend and never yield in the face of terror. And at the same time we will not be deterred from the mission the service members were so nobly fulfilling.

Trump announced he had directed the Department of War to mobilize 500 additional troops to help protect Washington, D.C., and said the deployment would shore up security around the Capitol. He praised the Secret Service, D.C. police, and the armed forces for their response and service. The president closed with a call for prayers for the wounded Guardsmen and gratitude for those who wear the uniform protecting the nation this holiday week.

That is why tonight I can announce that I have directed the Department of War to mobilize an additional 500 troops to help protect our Capitol city. We will make America totally safe again and we will bring the perpetrator of this barbaric attack to swift and certain justice, if the bullets going in the opposite direction haven’t already done that.

He ended by asking families to pray for the two injured patriots and to honor the sacrifice of those serving this country. The speech struck a tone of resolve and accountability, with immediate policy moves promised to address the vulnerabilities he highlighted. The president made clear that protecting Americans and enforcing immigration laws will remain central to his response.

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On a related note, this announcement came in moments after Trump addressed the nation: