White House officials and Biden’s political advisers have been closely tracking some of the rhetoric of Republican lawmakers, including some who voted just weeks ago against allocating $1.5 billion to help the resettlement of Afghans but are now criticizing Biden for not doing more.

Republicans are splintered over how to handle the issue, and have yet to find a consistent party-wide attack on Biden.

Trump has offered a number of contradictory criticisms, initially saying that Biden should have done more to help Afghan allies and then, following photos of military aircraft filled with Afghans, saying Americans should take priority. By this week, he settled on criticizing the vetting process and the potential for admitting those with unknown backgrounds into the country.

“You can be sure the Taliban, who are now in complete control, didn’t allow the best and brightest to board these evacuation flights,” Trump said Tuesday. “Instead, we can only imagine how many thousands of terrorists have been airlifted out of Afghanistan and into neighborhoods around the world.”