Former President Donald Trump accused President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of being personally responsible for the deaths of 13 US service members during the botched 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. Trump compared their actions to pulling the trigger himself and claimed that the parents of the fallen soldiers had lost their children because of Biden and Harris. He criticized the decision to conduct the withdrawal at a small airport in Afghanistan instead of the larger Bagram airbase, which he believed would have been a safer option.
Trump has been a vocal critic of Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, calling it the most incompetently run operation he has ever seen. He expressed sadness over the deaths of the service members, stating that they died because of the decisions made by Biden and Harris. Trump attended a private ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the three-year anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing, where he met with Gold Star families. Despite facing logistical challenges, Trump said he made the effort to attend the ceremony and spend time with the families who had lost their loved ones.
Following the ceremony, Trump claimed he received backlash from the Harris campaign, accusing him of using the event as a campaign photo opportunity. There were reports of an altercation between a Trump team member and an Arlington staff member over photography rights on the grounds, although the Trump campaign denied any physical altercation took place. Trump took to social media to defend himself, saying that the conflict was fabricated by the Harris campaign and accused them of spreading misinformation to distract from their responsibility in the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Trump reiterated his belief that the deaths of the service members were a result of the incompetence of Biden and Harris, stating that the situation in Afghanistan was mishandled. He emphasized that the families of the fallen soldiers had lost their children because of the decisions made by the current administration. Despite facing criticism and controversy over his attendance at the ceremony, Trump maintained that he was there to honor the fallen soldiers and support their families. He thanked the Gold Star families for revealing the truth of the event, dismissing claims of fights or problems at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Trump team initially indicated their willingness to release footage disproving the existence of a physical altercation at Arlington, but as of now, no such evidence has been provided. Trump continued to defend his actions and criticized Biden and Harris for trying to discredit him. He called out Harris for supposedly making up stories about conflicts at the ceremony and reiterated his belief that the responsibility for the deaths of the service members lay with the current administration. Despite the controversy surrounding his attendance at the ceremony, Trump remained firm in his convictions and his support for the Gold Star families who had lost their loved ones in the Abbey Gate bombing.
