During Thursday's debate with former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden falsely claimed he was the first president to have no Americans killed overseas in the past decade.
Biden made no mention of the 13 service members who died in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal on Aug. 26, 2021, during the first year of his administration.
“When he was president, people were being killed in Afghanistan and he did nothing about it,” Biden said. “When he was president, we still had the notion that we were a safe country. The truth is, I'm the only president who has done that.” [in] “There has not been a time in this century, in this decade, anywhere in the world where soldiers have not died.”
Biden: “When he was president, people were still being killed in Afghanistan… I'm the only president in the last 10 years who has not had a soldier die anywhere in the world…”
Doesn't Joe remember the Afghanistan withdrawal? pic.twitter.com/ArULxgxPw4
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 28, 2024
Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the botched withdrawal felt abandoned by the president and called on the administration to admit mistakes and honor the fallen. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press conference on August 29, 2022 that she had “nothing to say” about how the president plans to honor the fallen soldiers. (Related article: 'You don't even care': Mother of slain Marine slams Biden for failing to mention 13 soldiers killed in Afghanistan)
According to a new book published in February, Biden reportedly believed “nobody made a mistake” during the withdrawal, despite widespread backlash from Gold Star families and critics.
