'Was not expecting this': Trump stuns with talk of taking 'back' strategic air base

During a Thursday, September 18 press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Aylesbury, England, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he had "a little breaking news": his administration is "trying to get" Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan "back."

"We want that base back," Trump told reporters. "But one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it's an hour from where China makes it nuclear weapons."

Trump's Bagram announcement is generating a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter. And it comes a time when Trump is bragging about his "peace deals" despite calling for the U.S. to acquire Canada and Greenland.

U.S. News & World Report's Oliver Knox posted, "Was not expecting this."

Journalist Glenn Diesen tweeted, "Trump wants Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan back under US control as it is close to China's nuclear weapons production sites... - Imagine the uproar if China spoke in this manner."

Cybersecurity specialist Eduardo Rosas posted, "Wait, what? That's total BS...I was very critical of the withdrawal; however... The Trump–Taliban deal created a strict withdrawal timeline and troop cap that made holding Bagram impossible. Biden executed the final withdrawal but followed the constraints set by that agreement. BLUF: The combination of undermining the Afghan government, reducing U.S. troop levels, and consolidating forces led directly to the loss of Bagram Air Base before the final collapse in Kabul."

Journalist Habib Khan wrote, "Trump wants Bagram back. If the Taliban hand it over, they lose their jihadist base. The only way is military, but is the US really willing to oust the Taliban again by force?"

X user Jason Pretzel commented, "Sounds strategic. Hope it work out. I’m not sure we should know about that yet."

Another X user, Umar Afridi, posted, "Trump framing Bagram as a strategic leverage point shows how geopolitics and nuclear considerations are deeply intertwined. "

Trump supporter Dan Brisbois praised Trump's announcement, commenting, "The base was a crown jewel, sitting right where you could keep an eye on China, Russia, and Iran all at once, and the Democrats flushed it like toilet paper…. Getting Bagram back would be the ultimate 'f—— you' to Beijing — parking America's war machine right next door to (Chinese President) Xi’s little science project. That's savage geopolitics, Top G style."

But X user Rabid Raccoon reminded Brisbois, "Um... I don't know if you know this or not. But it was [T]rump who negotiated a deal with the TALIBAN to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. You stupid propaganda filled sons of b——!'"