Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, blasted President Joe Biden on Tuesday for leaving 15,000 Americans trapped in Afghanistan when the Taliban gained control of the nation.

During an appearance on Fox News’ “Special Report,” McConnell slammed Biden’s exit strategy, claiming it left thousands of Americans outside Kabul at the mercy of the Taliban.

“We hadn’t lost a single American soldier in combat in the last year,” he said. “It was working. It was working because we went there, we went there to prevent Al Qaeda from being back in full operational mode under the Taliban and to sort of keep the lid on.”

“My guess is we’re going to end up spending way more trying to evacuate people with this slipshod operation.”

He said, “Not to mention the translators who worked with us, and other Afghans who are in danger because they collaborated with us, there are up to 15,000 Americans trapped out in the country who probably have to beg the Taliban to allow them come to the airport.” All of this is the result of the choice to withdraw first, and to withdraw in a hasty and inept manner.”

He also chastised the President for leaving, claiming that the Taliban saw his decision as a military loss for the US.

The issue, according to the Senate Minority Leader, is an “embarrassment” and a “stain” on America’s prestige.

“It’s an utter embarrassment. Our allies won’t trust us,” he said. “This was an incredibly incompetent step. And I’m going to say previous presidents have wanted to leave Afghanistan as well, but, in the end, they didn’t because we knew we had the lid on.

“We knew we had held Al-Qaeda down. And that’s the most we could have hoped for in Afghanistan. Nobody thought we were going to create a Jeffersonian, Western-style democracy there.”

Two Senate aides confirmed that the US is seeking to withdraw between 10,000 and 15,000 Americans currently stuck in Afghanistan. Despite the fact that there is presently no way to avoid Taliban checkpoints outside of Kabul, the US State Department has failed to plan an evacuation of Americans outside of the city, according to the sources.

The Taliban have stated that they aim to provide safe passage to the airport for Americans. They also stated that they will not attack members of the international community in Afghanistan.

“We don’t hold any grudges towards each other. You will not be hurt from our soil,” the Taliban’s spokesperson, Zabuhullah Mujahid, said at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday, according to NBC News.

The spokesperson also stated that the Taliban’s newly formed administration wants to respect women’s rights, including letting them to work and study. He further claimed that Afghans who fought the Taliban and served as interpreters and contractors for foreign governments had been “pardoned.”

Joe Biden is facing rising backlash from British lawmakers over his plan to pull the US military out of Afghanistan.