The Biden administration left 85 billion dollars in American military equipment behind for the Taliban.
Posted by The Michael Berry Show, Checked
- Sources
- 8 contradict1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
The Michael Berry ShowAug 18, 2026
The claim that the Biden administration left $85 billion in American military equipment for the Taliban is contradicted by multiple authoritative fact-checks and by the Pentagon's own report.
What was said
… They asked again. He said he would find out. They never got an answer. The bomber disappeared into the crowd. Then, a flash. 13 American families got a knock on the door: Your loved one was killed. 85 billion dollars in American military equipment was left behind for the Taliban: Blackhawks, armored vehicles, night vision, weapon systems. The Biden administration called it an extraordinary success. John Kirby stood at the podium and said the president was very proud of the Afghanistan withdrawal. In fairness, he had no idea what was going on. Not one senior official was held accountable. …
The Michael Berry Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Snopes rated the claim that the US left more than $80 billion in equipment to the Taliban as False, saying the $80 billion figure reflects total spending on training and equipping Afghan forces, not the value of equipment left behind.[1]
Contradicts. PolitiFact rated the claim that Biden left the Taliban $80 billion-plus in weapons as False, noting that only a fraction of the spending went to hardware and that no accounting shows how much was left and usable.[2][6]
Contradicts. AP FactCheck found the Taliban had not obtained $80 billion or more in US equipment, saying the numbers were significantly inflated according to SIGAR reporting, and that the $85 billion figure resembles a SIGAR quarterly total for the Afghan security forces fund.[3][7]
Contradicts. FactCheck.org said Trump's $85 billion equipment figure was grossly exaggerated; the cited $82.9 billion was total appropriated Afghan Security Forces Fund money, with equipment making up less than a quarter and sustainment, mostly salaries, the largest piece.[4]
Contradicts. The Pentagon's report to Congress put the equipment left in Afghanistan at about $7.12 billion, and the Pentagon said that figure corresponds to Afghan government (ANDSF) equipment rather than US military equipment, far below $85 billion.[8][9]
Context. The claim's figure is drawn from a funding total, and the Congressional Record passage repeating the $85 billion figure is the claimant's side rather than independent corroboration.[5]
Sources
9 sources: 4 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 4 not rated
- 1Did US Leave More Than $80B Worth of Equipment to the Taliban?snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Claim overstates military weapons, equipment US left to ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 3Trump, others wrong on US gear left with Talibanapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 4FactChecking Trump's CPAC Speech - FactCheck.orgfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 5Congressional Record, Volume 168 Issue 159 (Friday, September 30, 2022)govinfo.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 6PolitiFact | No proof Biden left Taliban $80B in weapons, or ...api.politifact.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 7Trump, others wrong on US gear left with Taliban - KATVkatv.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 8Pentagon Downplays $7B in US Military Equipment Left in ...voanews.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 9First on CNN: US left behind $7 billion of military equipment in ...abc17news.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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