Trump Refuses to Confirm He Authorized Use of Giant Bomb in Afghanistan

Trump skirted a reporter's question concerning whether Trump himself authorized the strike. He pivoted by saying, "everybody knows what happened."

He followed up by stating that "what I do is authorize my military." 

The GRU-43/B is a conventional warhead weighing 22,600 pounds (10,300 kg) designed during the Iraq War. 

Trump said he was "very, very proud of the military" for it's "successful event." 

"We have given them total authorization…that's why they've been so successful lately," Trump added. 

"If you look at what's happened over the last eight weeks versus what's happened over the last eight years," he continued, "you'll see there's a tremendous difference." 

He concluded by saying "we have incredible leaders in the military, and we have an incredible military, and we are very proud of them" and that MOABs deployment in Afghanistan was a "successful mission." 

Here is a video of a test run at a base in Florida of the bomb showing how MOAB works and what it could have looked like when it landed in Naganhar province in Afghanistan on Thursday. 

Trump added that he didn't know if the strike in Afghanistan directed against Daesh would send a message to Pyongyang. "I don't know if this sends a message," he said, "it doesn't make any difference if it does or not." 

Trump said North Korea is "a problem" and "the problem will be taken care of." He pointed out that Beijing has "been working very hard" on the issue. 

"I've really gotten to like and respect" Chinese President Xi Jinping, he continued, calling him a "terrific person." "We'll see how it goes, I think he's going to try very hard."