Gold Star Families Shred Biden at RNC Convention

(UnitedVoice.com) – On August 26, 2021, suicide bombers set off explosive devices at Abbey Gate of the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan. Thirteen American troops died in the attack. Some of their families used the Republican National Convention (RNC) to express their anger toward President Joe Biden.

On July 17, the Gold Star families took the stage in Milwaukee. Alicia and Herman Lopez, parents of Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, took turns reading the names of the 13 service members killed in the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The crowd repeated their names back to the families. Jim McCollum, father of Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, told the New York Post that when the crowd repeated their loved ones’ names it was the “most surreal, appreciative, humbling, beautiful thing” the families could have imagined.

The families have long criticized Biden for never saying the names of their loved ones before. Christy Shamblin, Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee’s mother-in-law, told the emotional crowd that former President Donald Trump knew their names and stories. Gee’s aunt Cheryl Juels told the crowd that Biden owes those “who served in Afghanistan […] an apology.”

The press reached out to the White House and Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, pointed to statements made by the administration naming the deceased service members. She said the president “cares deeply about [America’s] service members, their families, and the immense sacrifices they have made.”

Watson also mentioned the president went to the “dignified transfer of the 13 brave service members” and for the three who died in Jordan this year. Despite this, the president still claimed that no service members had perished under his administration during the first debate with Trump.

Kelly Barnett, the mother of Marine Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, told The Post that the Biden administration wants their families to “go away.” She told the newspaper that the families are still fighting for recognition from the president. She said the president knows the withdrawal wasn’t done correctly. She called Trump a “good friend.”