President Biden has come under fire from Gold Star families for his erroneous assertion during Thursday's CNN Presidential Debate that he is the "only President this century, this decade, that doesn't have any troops dying anywhere in the world."
This statement has been met with vehement backlash, particularly from those who have lost loved ones in the line of duty.
According to Fox News, Biden's denial of the loss of 13 American service members in Afghanistan has sparked outrage among the families of the fallen. In the debate, he also pointed fingers at his predecessor, stating, "when he [Trump] was president, they were still killing people in Afghanistan. And he didn't do anything about that."
Darin Hoover, the Gold Star father of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, who was among the 13 American service members killed in action on August 26, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan, expressed his indignation at Biden's debate remarks. The younger Hoover, 31, was engaged to be married and was on his third tour in Afghanistan when he was killed.
"I knew Afghanistan was going to come up sooner or later," Hoover told Fox News Digital, reflecting on the debate. "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."
Hoover's frustration was palpable as he added, "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."
Kelly Barnett, mother of the late Taylor, had a poignant message for Biden: "What I would say to them is shame on you using our children as a pawn. It just makes me sick." She echoed Hoover's sentiment, "Shame on you using our children as a pawn"
Hoover expressed his disappointment with the Biden administration's handling of the situation, stating, "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."
He revealed that the Biden administration sent the 13 Afghanistan Gold Star families letters a year later. "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," Hoover added.
Despite his attempts to meet with Biden on behalf of the 13 lost on August 26, 2021, Hoover has been met with resistance. He stated, "[Biden] doesn't want to deal with us. He knows that we're in his face, but he doesn't want to deal with us."
The St. Charles County Veterans Museum in Missouri has honored Hoover with awards including the Purple Heart and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal for his 11 years of service to the Marine Corps. The Biden administration, however, has remained silent, failing to respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. This lack of acknowledgment and the administration's apparent disregard for the sacrifices of these service members continue to fuel the ire of the Gold Star families.
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