MILWAUKEE (AP) — Relatives of some of the 13 American service members killed during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention Wednesday in an emotional moment that revived one of the low points of President Joe Biden’s presidency.
Many of the Gold Star families have criticized Biden for never publicly naming their loved ones. On stage Wednesday, one of the family members named each of the 13 service members, and the crowd echoed back each name as it was read aloud.
“Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice,” Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, told the crowd. “Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names. He knew all of their stories.”
The crowd chanted “Never forget!” and “U.S.A.!” as Trump and the entire convention hall stood.
The display on the RNC’s third day was an implicit response to Biden’s repeated rebukes of Trump and his allegations that the former president doesn’t respect veterans. Biden has often brought up a claim by retired Gen. John Kelly, who was Trump’s chief of staff, that Trump referred to slain World War II soldiers as losers and suckers. Trump denies the allegation.
While Biden has never spoken each of the names of the fallen service members aloud, the White House pointed to written statements from the president that named them and other comments where he called them “heroes” and honored their service.
“President Biden cares deeply about our service members, their families, and the immense sacrifices they have made,” Adrienne Watson, a National Security Council spokesperson, said in a statement. “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. 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.”
The U.S. service members and 60 Afghans were killed by a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in August 2021 as the U.S. worked feverishly to evacuate Americans and Afghans who helped the West during two decades of war.
The parents and loved ones of those service members have been in the political spotlight ever since, appearing before congressional hearings and doing news interviews.
Republicans have claimed that Biden’s decision to remove U.S. soldiers after the two-decade war in Afghanistan was a strictly political move. But the agreement for the U.S. to withdraw from Afghanistan was signed by Trump’s administration in February 2020. The deal called for American troops to be out by May 2021, but Trump left office that January without leaving a plan in place for the actual withdrawal of forces.
Several months before the peace deal with the Taliban was signed in Doha, Qatar, Trump had contemplated inviting the Taliban leadership to Camp David to sign an agreement. Those plans, which were vehemently objected to by senior military officials, were put on hold after a Taliban attack that killed a U.S. soldier.
Criticism of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan resonates with voters across party lines. Former Biden supporters, such as former New Hampshire House Speaker Steve Shurtleff, have cited the botched withdrawal as one reason why he wants Biden to step aside.
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Cooper reported from Phoenix.