After the initial panic from the media about Joe Biden’s devastatingly horrible debate performance Thursday night, the liberal media tried to balance their coverage with accusations that Donald Trump was just peddling falsehoods.
Somehow, Biden’s lies got glossed over. But, Gold Star families couldn’t gloss over a blatant lie Joe Biden told during the debate, and are calling him out on it.
“The truth is, I’m the only president this century that doesn’t have any this – this decade, that doesn’t have any troops dying anywhere in the world, like [Trump] did,” Biden claimed.
That’s news to the family members of the 13 soldiers who were killed during Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, or the families of the three soldiers who were killed in Jordan earlier this year.
"While the words shocked many across the nation, the repulsive faux pax particularly stung the hearts of the Gold Star families who lost their loved ones in the violent attacks on US troops since Biden took office in January 2021, said Mark Schmitz, whose son Marine Cpl. Jared Schmitz was among the fallen 13 in Kabul,” reports the New York Post.
“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,” Schmitz told The Post. “It took all self-restraint not to put my fist right through my TV. I was beyond ticked off, disrespected. That’s all we’ve ever gotten out of this president."
Steve Nikoui, whose son Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui also died during the botched withdrawal, wasn't surprised by Biden's lie considering the way Biden disrespected the soldiers by glances at his watch during the dignified transfer ceremony for the 13 soldiers
“I did see that, and I was just as shocked as anyone else, but I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “I’m glad that the rest of America is able to see what we’ve been dealing with for the last three years.”
For Nikoui, Biden’s claim at the debate was yet another insult to the memory of his son and those who died because of Biden’s lack of leadership. He told the Post that Biden "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."
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“I know he’s not there 100%, and it’s one thing not to accept that they were murdered by his administration,” Coral Briseno, whose son Marine Cpl. Humberto Sanchez was killed at Kabul Airport, told the Post. “But if he wants everybody to know that nobody died, it’s another thing. But then I think that in his mind, he [thinks he] did not kill those soldiers – that never happened."
Other Gold Star parents, including Christy Shamblin and Darin Hoover, who spoke with the New York Post, expressed deep frustration with Biden's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, and argued that his advanced age and diminished mental state aren’t acceptable excuses.
Shamblin said that her daughter-in-law and others died due to the Biden administration's failures, and fears Biden will deny responsibility in future conflicts as well. Hoover condemned Biden for trying to move past Afghanistan, asserting that the consequences of his decisions will continue to haunt him. Both parents are collaborating with the House Foreign Affairs Committee to hold Biden accountable, with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) condemning Biden's refusal to acknowledge the fallen servicemembers from the Abbey Gate attack.
“Three service members were killed in Jordan. 13 brave service members died at Abbey Gate during his deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, where he abandoned American citizens and thousands of our Afghan allies to terrorists,” McCaul told The Post. “To this day, President Biden refuses to publicly utter the names our 13 fallen. President Biden, history will not forget your cowardice.”
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