During the presidential debate hosted by CNN on Thursday, President Joe Biden claimed that no American military personnel had died under his watch. But this statement is untrue as over a dozen soldiers died during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and three American soldiers were killed in a drone strike in Jordan in January. In response to Biden’s comments, the family of a service member killed in Afghanistan during the withdrawal spoke out.
Among those killed was Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, who was killed in action on August 26, 2021. His parents spoke out after President Biden, during the debate, claimed that he is the “only president this century, this decade, that doesn’t have any troops dying anywhere in the world.” He also said that “when he [Trump] was president, they were still killing people in Afghanistan. And he didn’t do anything about that,” ignoring the August 26 disaster of his own making.
Darin Hoover, the father, spoke to Fox News Digital after the debate. He said, “I knew Afghanistan was going to come up sooner or later.” He continued shredding Biden, adding: “You know, the stumbling, bumbling buffoon that we have in the White House had the audacity to say that under his watch that no military members have died.”
He added that “the rage, the absolute disgust that I got, from hearing him say that–I started yelling back at the TV. Just out of frustration. He’s never acknowledged, not one time, any of our kids. He’s never said their names. Even to this day, I doubt very seriously that he even knows their names.”
“All the 13 families get a canned letter. It said the same exact same thing. And it looked like it was a photocopy of all of that. It was basically, we’re sorry that your service member had died, and that’s been it. We’ve had absolutely nothing before, nothing since,” he added.
Staff Sgt. Hoover’s mother, Kelly Barnett, noted as well: “What I would say to them is shame on you using our children as a pawn. It just makes me sick.” She continued, “It’s sickening, but it goes to the way that we’ve been treated the past three years. It’s three years–we’re going on three years now. And it’s just disrespect after disrespect. This is probably the cherry on top.”
WATCH:
JUST IN: President Biden says he’s the “only president this century” who had no American troops die under his administration.
In 2021, under President Biden, 13 American troops died while withdrawing from Afghanistan.#Trump #Biden #Debates2024 #debate #USA pic.twitter.com/AVLtvfM8ue— InfoHQ (@INF0HQ) June 28, 2024
On Friday’s broadcast of “CNN NewsNight,” CNN Political Commentator and former Obama Adviser Van Jones noted that GOP claims that Vice President Kamala Harris is really on the ballot are spot-on and “it’s hard to imagine” the President Biden that “you saw yesterday” on the debate stage “making it four-and-a-half more years. And so, you do have to acknowledge, there is a high likelihood that a Joe Biden victory ultimately means Kamala Harris will be president.”
The observation began after host Abby Phillips said: “This has been something that they have described as a conservative talking point, a hitjob, that she’s really the one on the ballot. But it seems like, at this very moment, that is true.”
That led Jones to respond: “Yeah. Because, look, Joe Biden did a great job today, and that was a relief for a lot of people, but it’s hard to unsee yesterday. And it’s hard to imagine the guy you saw yesterday making it four-and-a-half more years. And so, you do have to acknowledge, there is a high likelihood that a Joe Biden victory ultimately means Kamala Harris will be president. So, people need to make the decision, do you feel comfortable? Do you feel good about that?”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.