A Gold Star mom who met with President Joe Biden on Memorial Day following the death of her son during the troop withdrawal debacle from Afghanistan stated that he responded to her pain and agony by suggesting she take a picture with him while she bawled her eyes out during their meeting. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is supposed to be our example of compassion? Seriously? A leather shoe has more compassion than the president.
Instead of offering this woman words of comfort, apologizing for the mess that led to his death, and embracing her, he sees the weeping woman as a photo opportunity. How much more despicable can you get?
According to the Daily Wire:
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Christian Knauss was killed when a bomber detonated a bomb at Kabul’s international airport on August 26, 2021, killing 13 American soldiers. His mother, Paula Knauss Selph, the executive director of the Respect and Remember Foundation, met Biden in the Oval Office at an event for Gold Star families in Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day 2022.
“There’s been a lot of grief, a lot of grief,” the mother went on to say during an interview with The Daily Mail. “There’s nothing like watching your child die in front of you, in front of the world.”
She then recalled the meeting with Biden, revealing that he said, “I can understand if you’re angry.”
“I stood face-to-face with him, eyeball-to-eyeball. I began to weep,” she stated, adding that she told him, “It should have never happened this way.”
“He stood there stoically,” she recounted. “Nothing out of his mouth except — well would you like to get a photo with me?”
Selph told Biden that the only picture she would take with him was if he stood with her at her son’s tombstone at Arlington National Cemetery. She said Biden answered, “I can’t do that because Secret Service won’t let me do that.”
“It’s a moral disgrace for a president not to have mercy on the people that he serves. It is a moral disgrace,” Selph continued, stating that the president thought the “sad occasion” was a “photo op’” instead of an opportunity to provide comfort to a heartbroken mother grieving the death of her child.
“He had the chance to make a difference for my child. On not making decisions and indecisions that cost him his life. And I do hold him accountable,” she finished.
Sleph then went on to speak of her son, who served as a member of the JROTC cadet program before he decided to sign up for the military and serve his country, saying, “Ryan, all of his life was quite certain he wanted to go in the armed forces. And it is a pleasing thing to me. But throughout his life, he kept that focus. He was so disciplined. He was so smart… He was protecting and giving us the opportunity for many people to live out the American dream. That’s what will long outlive all of us.”
How tragic that this woman had to look the man who was responsible for the mess that led to her son’s death right in the eye, and instead of getting words of succor for her wounded heart, received an offer for a photo. Is Biden really this clueless? Is it the possible dementia he suffers from that is causing this sort of callousness? Or is it possible he’s a sociopath of sorts?
Either way, there’s no excuse for treating the families of deceased military members with such a massive lack of compassion. Biden should be absolutely ashamed of himself.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member