In a stark contrast to the previous year, the 2024 State of the Union address under the former President Joe Biden saw a grieving father, Steve Nikoui, being escorted out and arrested for interrupting the speech.
Nikoui, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, was one of the 13 Americans killed during Biden's calamitous withdrawal from Afghanistan, shouted "Abbey Gate," and "Second Battalion First Marines!" His outburst was met with zero tolerance, leading to his arrest for disrupting Congress, although the charges were later dropped.
According to The Federalist, before President Donald Trump addressed the joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday night, he reached out to the 13 Gold Star families who had lost a loved one in the Kabul Airport bombing. He offered them a semblance of closure by informing them that the U.S. Government, in collaboration with the Government of Pakistan, had apprehended Mohammad Sharifullah, the suspected mastermind behind the bombing.
During his address, Trump announced that Sharifullah was en route to the U.S. to face the "swift sword of American justice." He shared his conversation with the bereaved families, stating, "I spoke to many of the parents and loved ones, and they were all in our hearts tonight. Just spoke to them on the phone. We had a big call. Every one of them called, and everybody was on the line, and they did nothing but cry with happiness. They were very happy, as happy as you can be under those circumstances. Their child, brother, sister, son, daughter was killed for no reason whatsoever in the Middle East."
In contrast, Biden's attempt to express empathy towards grieving parents was seen as self-centered, focusing on his own loss of his son, Beau Biden, to brain cancer. His lack of genuine empathy was further underscored by his failure to prevent Nikoui's arrest or take responsibility for his son's death. Biden's inability to think on his feet and his apparent lack of compassion for others were glaringly evident.
The role of a President includes responding to tragedies, a task that Biden failed to handle effectively, while Trump seemed to have mastered it. As reported by The Federalists Jordan Boyd, Gold Star families connected to the Afghanistan withdrawal felt neglected by the Biden administration, both in terms of the danger he put their loved ones in and his personal interactions with them.
Trump's approach to grief is different. He focuses on the person in pain, not himself. He communicates the tragedy of their grief effectively and maintains relationships with the families of victims, often mentioning their loved ones. In his Tuesday speech, he made heartfelt remarks to the family of Laken Riley, who was killed by an illegal alien, and the widow of New York Police Officer Jonathan Diller, who was shot and killed while on duty.
Trump also remembered Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot in Butler, Pennsylvania, in an attempted assassination on Trump. He said, When the sound of gunshots pierced the air, it was a horrible sound. Corey knew instantly what it was and what to do. He threw himself on top of his wife and daughters and shielded them from the bullets with his own body. Corey was hit really hard. You know, the story from there, he sacrificed his life to save theirs.
Trump continued, To Helen, Allison and Kaylee, Corey is looking down on his three beautiful ladies right now, and he is cheering you on. He loves you Corey was taken from us much too soon, but his destiny was to leave us all with a shining example of the selfless devotion of a true American patriot. It was love like Coreys that built our country. Its love like Coreys that is going to make our country more majestic than ever before. I believe that my life was saved that day in Butler for a very good reason. I was saved by God to make America great again. I believe that.
Trump's ability to convey authentic emotion validates the experiences of those in pain. By sharing their stories, he ensures that the families of victims can share their grief, knowing their loved one is not forgotten, their life was not wasted, and their death matters.
Login