Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki apologized to Gold Star families on Friday for defending President Joe Biden's 2021 watch check at a ceremony honoring 13 soldiers killed in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
Psaki came under fire in May for writing in her book “Say More” that Biden had checked his watch after the ceremony ended. The now-MSNBC host's false claim has been widely circulated. Fact Check Starting in September 2021, she was forced to retract her claims in further reprints. New York Post report.
In an interview with the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday, Psaki “agreed to apologize” to the 13 Gold Star families for the contradictions in her book, Republican Rep. Mike Walz of Florida told X-TV.
I just finished an interview with Jen Psaki before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
She agreed to apologize to 13 Afghanistan Gold Star recipient families who she falsely accused in her book of Biden not looking at his watch.
This is not a partisan or staged moment. This is the right thing to do…
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) July 26, 2024
“Jen Psaki just finished an interview with the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Waltz wrote, “in which she agreed to apologize to the families of 13 Afghanistan Gold Star recipients who she falsely accused Biden of not looking at his watch in her book.”
“This is not a partisan thing or an attack on anyone,” he continued. “This is the right thing to do as fellow Americans, and I pray that she follows through on it.”
Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Michael McCaul questioned Psaki about her comments on “Say More,” repeatedly until she apologized. according to In the Washington Examiner. (Related: Top US general warns Biden that situation in Afghanistan will 'rapidly deteriorate' after withdrawal)
“The Chairperson asked about Ms. Psaki’s comments about President Biden looking at his watch while in Dover. [Air Force Base] “Ms Psaki asked if there was anything she would like to say publicly to the family,” Foreign Relations Committee Majority Spokesperson Leslie Shedd said in a statement to the outlet. “After repeatedly pressing Ms Psaki as to whether there was anything she would like to say to the family, Ms Psaki asked the Chair to apologize to the family and convey her regret for the pain she has caused, which she has done.”
On June 27, during a debate with 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Biden falsely claimed that no soldiers had been killed under his command after Gold Star families called on him to admit fault and honor those killed in action.
