Gold Star Families Slam Biden's Denial of Troop Deaths

Following President Joe Biden's debate oversight regarding military deaths under his watch, members of gold star families shared their frustration with the New York Post.

During Thursday night's debate, Biden said, "The truth is, I'm the only president this century that doesn't have any this, this decade — doesn't have any troops dying anywhere in the world, like he did," referring to his debate opponent, former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Sixteen troops have been killed overseas since Biden took office, according to the Post. Thirteen were killed during the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan on Aug. 26, 2021. Three were killed five months ago in Jordan. U.S. troops also have died in training incidents during Biden's time in office.

Mark Schmitz, whose son, Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, was one the 13 Marines killed in Afghanistan, shared his contempt for Biden's remark with the Post.

"My phone blew up for probably 20 minutes after that came through, and everybody was just in utter shock. And my poor kids were in the next room — let's just say I ultimately ended up having to apologize to them for my language," he told the Post.

"It took all self-restraint not to put my fist right through my TV. I was beyond ticked off, disrespected. That's all we've ever gotten out of this president," he added.

Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui also died during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Post spoke with his father, Steve Nikoui, who was arrested in March for disrupting Biden's State of the Union address.

"I did see that, and I was just as shocked as anyone else, but I wasn't surprised," he told the outlet. "I'm glad that the rest of America is able to see what we've been dealing with for the last three years.

"What he did last night was he basically refused to honor the service and sacrifice of the 13 servicemen and women that were killed at the Abbey gate directly — were killed because of his incompetence. And he refuses since that's happened to even recognize them."

James Morley III ✉

James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature. 

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