President Trump dodges direct question on whether he authorized the Afghanistan bomb

President Trump dodged a direct question about whether he authorized the use of the so-called "mother of all bombs," or "MOAB," in Afghanistan on Thursday. "Uhh," he said in reply.

He continued: "Everybody knows exactly what happened and what I do is, I authorize my military. We have the greatest military in the world."

While the technology for the MOAB — properly named the Massive Ordnance Air Blast — has existed since 2003, neither former President George W. Bush nor former President Barack Obama opted to use it in combat. Read more about the history of the weapon here, and watch President Trump sidestep the question below. Jeva Lange

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up