--- title: Donald Trump Hasn't Spoken to His Top General in Afghanistan description: President Trump has yet to speak with the U.S. general in command of forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John W. Nicholson canonical: https://time.com/5019150/donald-trump-john-nicholson-afghanistan-war/ author: W.J. Hennigan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-10T17:59:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:12:08.919Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Still Hasn't Spoken to His Top General in Afghanistan og:description: President Trump has yet to speak with the U.S. general in command of forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John W. Nicholson og:url: https://time.com/5019150/donald-trump-john-nicholson-afghanistan-war/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb58085574ca7c20/6988e5650a4a220d4a9d0a93/rts1d307.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2673 og:image:height: 1504 og:image:alt: U.S. Army General John Nicholson og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Still Hasn't Spoken to His Top General in Afghanistan twitter:description: President Trump has yet to speak with the U.S. general in command of forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John W. Nicholson twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb58085574ca7c20/6988e5650a4a220d4a9d0a93/rts1d307.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Still Hasn't Spoken to His Top General in Afghanistan > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [W.J. Hennigan](https://time.com/author/w-j-hennigan/)  ## W.J. Hennigan Nov 10, 2017 5:59 PM UTC  U.S. Army General John Nicholson, Commander of Resolute Support forces and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, speaks about the U.S. new strategy for Afghanistan during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan August 24, 2017. U.S. Army General John Nicholson, Commander of Resolute Support forces and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, speaks about the U.S. new strategy for Afghanistan during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan August 24, 2017. Omar Sobhani—Reuters  by [W.J. Hennigan](https://time.com/author/w-j-hennigan/)  ## W.J. Hennigan Nov 10, 2017 5:59 PM UTC President Trump has yet to speak with the U.S. general in command of forces in Afghanistan, despite approving [a new military strategy](http://time.com/4910380/donald-trump-afghanistan-reversal/) earlier this year that committed more troops and funding for America’s longest war. “I haven’t spoken with him,” Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr., U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told reporters Nov. 8 in Brussels. The lack of contact between the commander-in-chief and the top military official in Afghanistan is unusual. Nicholson said he spoke to President Barack Obama twice in the 10 months they overlapped. The general’s comments came in response to questions about whether he felt Trump had confidence in him as commander. [Reports](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-u-s-losing-afghan-war-tense-meeting-generals-n789006) over the summer indicated the President was considering firing Nicholson over the lack of progress in Afghanistan. But Nicholson said he felt Trump had faith in him despite not having a face-to-face meeting or phone call. “Yes, I believe I have his confidence,” Nicholson told reporters. “And I say that because the policy that we received on August 21st is everything that I asked for.” In a primetime address to the nation that night, [Trump authorized](http://time.com/4908538/why-president-trump-is-staying-in-afghanistan/) a new plan that allowed the military to deploy more than 3,000 additional troops, who would advise Afghan forces and work more closely with local commanders. The White House also granted the Pentagon more leeway in launching airstrikes against the Taliban, Islamic State-affiliated militants, and other insurgents, which has thrown the war-torn nation in further disarray. A United Nations review of the security situation recently stated that Afghanistan’s declining security threatened the gains achieved. The conflict is an “eroding stalemate in which the Taliban have increased the territory they are able to contest and, in some areas, have begun to consolidate their hold,” the U.N. said. There are now about 14,000 American and 6,500 NATO troops inside Afghanistan. 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