President Trump says the United States is trying to reclaim control of Bagram Air Base, just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, more than four years after it fell into the hands of the Taliban during the 2021 American pullout from the country.

Mr. Trump says the base is important because it is relatively close to a site where China is building up its nuclear capabilities. 

Mr. Trump — who long advocated getting out of Afghanistan — had planned to do so himself following the 2020 election, though he never got the chance after his defeat. When the American retreat from the country ended in disaster, with the suicide bombing deaths of more than a dozen American service members, President Biden’s approval rating plummeted and never recovered. 

At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Kier Starmer in the United Kingdom on Thursday, the president said he is trying to reclaim control of the base. 

Mr. Trump, answering a question about President Vladimir Putin, said the Russian leader “didn’t respect the leadership of the United States” because of the “Afghanistan total disaster.”

“We were gonna leave Afghanistan but we were gonna leave it with strength and dignity,” Mr. Trump said Thursday. “We were gonna keep Bagram, the big air base — one the biggest air bases in the world. We gave it to [the Taliban] for nothing.”

“We’re trying to get it back, by the way. That could be a little breaking news — we’re trying to get it back,” the president announced. “Because [the Taliban] need something from us. We need that base back.”

Mr. Trump added that “one of the reasons” he wants control of Bagram is because “it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”

“A lot of things are happening,” he declared. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on specifics about Mr. Trump’s desire to reclaim the base. 

According to a 2021 report from the Washington Post, Communist China has been building up its nuclear missile capabilities in the eastern part of its Xinjiang region, near the city of Hami, which is most likely the missile site to which Mr. Trump is referring. There are just more than 1,400 miles between Bagram Air Base and that part of northeastern Xinjiang.