'Beyond ticked off': Gold Star families react to Biden's claim no US troops have died under his watch
Family members of the U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan in 2021 expressed anger and frustration with President Joe Biden after he claimed during the CNN presidential debate that no service members were killed overseas during his time as commander-in-chief.
On Thursday, CNN hosts Dana Bash and Jake Tapper moderated the first debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump before the 2024 presidential election. The candidates discussed a variety of political issues, including abortion, immigration and foreign policy.
At one point during the debate, Biden claimed that he is the "only president this century, this decade, that doesn't have any troops dying anywhere in the world."
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The statement sparked criticism from multiple Gold Star families who lost loved ones during the Biden administration's 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In August 2021, 13 U.S. service members and around 170 Afghan civilians were killed in a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport's Abbey Gate. The bombing occurred shortly after the U.S. Department of Defense warned people about going near the airport due to reports of an imminent attack by the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) on Afghans and Americans attempting to flee the country after the Biden administration ordered a withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan.
Mark Schmitz, the father of Marine Cpl. Jared Schmitz, one of the fallen service members in Kabul, told The New York Post in a Friday statement that he received several phone calls after Biden made that remark.
"My phone blew up for probably 20 minutes after that came through, and everybody was just in utter shock. And my poor kids were in the next room — let's just say I ultimately ended up having to apologize to them for my language," he told The Post.
"It took all self-restraint not to put my fist right through my TV," Schmitz added. "I was beyond ticked off, disrespected. That's all we've ever gotten out of this president."
The White House did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.
Steve Nikoui, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, who died in the blast, told The New York Post that Biden's comment did not surprise him, adding that he hopes the rest of America can see what he and other Gold Star families "have been dealing with for the last three years."
"What he did last night was he basically refused to honor the service and sacrifice of the 13 servicemen and women that were killed at the Abbey Gate directly — were killed because of his incompetence — and he refuses, since that's happened, to even recognize them," Nikoui said in a Friday statement.
Nikoui was arrested in March after he shouted at Biden during the president's State of the Union address. The father was invited to the speech as a guest of Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida who lost his legs while serving in the military. During Biden's speech, Nikoui could be heard yelling "Abbey Gate," a reference to the 2021 explosion at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
"He was arrested because he cried out to Joe Biden to remember his son," Mast wrote in an Instagram post about the situation. "Joe Biden has never honored those killed at the Abby Gate and still hails the catastrophic withdrawal as a success!"
In response to the criticism, a White House spokesperson told Fox News that Biden "cares deeply about our service members, their families, and the immense sacrifices they have made."
"That’s why the President attended the dignified transfer of the 13 brave service members who lost their lives in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021; as well as, of the three who lost their lives in Jordan earlier this year," the spokesperson said.
"As he said then and continues to believe now: Our country owes them a great deal of gratitude and a debt that we can never repay, and we will continue to honor their ultimate sacrifice."
Darin Hoover, the father of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, who also died in the 2021 bombing attack in Kabul, told Fox News on Saturday that he felt so much rage after hearing Biden's statement that he started yelling at the television. Hoover was in the middle of his third tour in Afghanistan and was engaged to be married at the time of his death. He was 31 years old.
"Just out of frustration. He's never acknowledged, not one time, any of our kids," the Gold Star father said. "He's never said their names. Even to this day, I doubt very seriously that he even knows their names."
Kelly Barnett, the mother of Taylor, said of the Biden administration: "What I would say to them is shame on you using our children as a pawn. It just makes me sick."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
