GOP's Bacon: Trump repeating Taliban mistake in Ukraine talks

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said President Trump is repeating mistakes he made in Afghanistan by not including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in talks to end his country’s war with Russia.

“It's a terrible mistake not to have the Ukrainian leader in the talks,” Bacon said in an interview with CNN’s Pamela Brown on Monday.

“We've seen a history of this. I remember when the Trump administration was negotiating with the Taliban without the Afghan government. That really weakened the Afghan government thereafter,” he added.

The Trump administration brokered a deal with the Taliban in 2020 that laid out a plan for the U.S. to fully withdraw from Afghanistan by May 2021 if the group upheld certain commitments, such as denying safe haven to al Qaeda.

But the withdrawal, executed by the Biden administration, went awry, with the Taliban taking control of major cities faster than U.S. officials had anticipated, and U.S.-trained and equipped Afghan forces failing to provide much resistance.

Now, amid fallout from a tense Oval Office meeting between Zelensky and Trump, Ukrainian and U.S. top-level officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss the war, but Zelensky himself is not expected to be in attendance.

“Ukraine is our ally. They want to be part of the West. Russia is our adversary, and it's time that this administration gets this in their brain," Bacon said.

Bacon criticized the Trump administration’s general approach to dealing with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying Republican voters are critical of the White House’s moves.

"They're treating Putin with velvet gloves, and they're being harsh to our allies,” Bacon said. “I got to tell you, I'm hearing from all over the world, but particularly lots of Republicans in Omaha, who do not like what they see.”

Bacon said international players are questioning whether the U.S. is “still the leader of the free world,” saying, “it appears to many leaders and people all over, to include Republicans in Nebraska, that this administration is walking away from that legacy that was built by” GOP presidents including Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan.

He called for the U.S. to pursue a foreign policy under which the U.S. stands up for freedom.

“I'm not interested in a foreign policy that is totally built on realism or transactionalism, where it's just, 'What do we have in it for us?' I believe in having a foreign policy that's a mix of realism, protecting our country, and idealism, where we're the leaders standing for freedom, free markets and rule of law,” he added.

Bacon said it’s important to be “clear-eyed” and have “moral clarity” when it comes to Putin.

“Putin invaded Ukraine. He's murdered all of his political opponents. He tried to kill a previous Ukrainian prime minister. He's bombing cities. He's ramped up the bombing of cities since President Trump has been harsh towards President Zelensky.

“We're playing into the hands of Putin, and I think it's devastating for our national security and our foreign affairs for the years to come. So I'm very concerned,” he said.