Jake Tapper Presses WH Official on Effort to Evacuate Afghans Who Helped U.S.: They ‘Need More Than Words and Promises’

CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed senior White House advisor Cedric Richmond on the Biden administration’s effort to protect America’s allies in Afghanistan once the U.S. withdraws troops from the country in September.

Recent reports indicate that the Biden administration is scrambling to relocate Afghan interpreters, translators, and their families who’ve worked with the U.S. Military over the last 20 years. The concern is whether there will be enough time to process special immigration visas for all of these people so they’ll be able to flee Afghanistan before the Taliban can target them.

As Richmond gave an interview to CNN’s State of the Union, Tapper brought this up and remarked that the Biden administration has been short on the details for how they’ll make this happen.

“These people, respectfully, sir, need more than words and promises,” Tapper said. “They need action from President Biden. When is he going to tell the Pentagon and the State Department ‘Go! Start evacuating them?'”

Richmond answered by insisting “the president was very clear that he’s not leaving people behind.” As for providing precise details though, Richmond said “we are not necessarily going to do that because of the sensitivity of the information.”

“We want to make sure that we protect the people who helped us and risked their lives to helped us and risked their lives to help us,” he continued. “I think that a president who lives and honors his word, and always says when he gives his word as a Biden, he is going to stick to it. He was very clear that we would not leave them behind.”

Richmond concluded by again saying they won’t share details, even as he once more insisted “there is a process being set up” to move U.S. allies in Afghanistan.

Watch above, via CNN.