Kamala Harris' War with Afghanistan Gold Star Families
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The Gold Star families who lost loved ones three years ago at the bombing of Abbey Gate in Afghanistan have been mum about their criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris, but all that changed when she criticized a memorial at Arlington cemetery where former President Donald Trump attended.
“As Vice President, I have had the privilege of visiting Arlington National Cemetery several times. It is a solemn place; a place where we come together to honor American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of this nation. It is not a place for politics. And yet, as was reported this week, Donald Trump’s team chose to film a video there, resulting in an altercation with cemetery staff. Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt.”
Eight family members quickly took to social media to correct the record about Trump’s visit and criticize Harris for her insensitivity and incompetence.
The families insisted that President Trump and his team were “respectful,” listened to their stories, and had been in contact with them repeatedly—unlike the vice president.
“Vice President Harris, I ask you, why won’t you return a call and explain to us how you call my daughter-in-law’s death a ‘success?’ Vice President Harris, why will you not express your condolences yourself? Why have we never heard from you?” - Christy Shamblin, Mother-in-Law of Sergeant Nicole Gee
Shamblin also said President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were invited, but the families never heard back from the White House.
Kristen Welker on Meet the Press falsely claimed that Kamala Harris met the families during the dignified transfer, but the vice president was absent. Meet the Press issued a “correction” on X, stating they “incorrectly implied,” but that is also false. Welker directly and clearly made a false statement, that should have been immediately corrected on air.
President Trump has been criticized for making the event political and even accused of breaking federal law after taking pictures and posting a video on TikTok. The families insisted that Trump had their permission to film, and they wanted to take photos with him. A cemetery employee did try to stop the Trump team from filming, but Arlington permits photos and filming. It says so on their website. They ask that photographers refrain from taking pictures or filming someone visibly mourning and ask for permission to film or photograph people visiting a gravesite.
The employee claimed they were “verbally abused and pushed aside,” but Darin Hoover, the father of Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover, said the families didn’t see anything like that. “I don’t know where this is coming from, but it’s disgusting and gross.”
Hoover also said no politics were discussed that day, and nor did he believe the event was political. Hoover said the family asked Trump to film and take photos. Hoover was asked in an interview if he thought they were being used for political purposes. “Not at all. If I thought that, I wouldn’t be doing any of this.”
On the other hand, the Gold Star families saw Harris’ social media posts as extremely political.
“Kamala, your statement is nothing more than a political spin to help you look better in your presidential campaign against Donald Trump. You have never walked a single day in our shoes.” - Jacylyn Schmitz, Mother of Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz
“You indicated in your post that you support the military and military families. I, for one, have not seen that support. It’s been three years since my son was killed in action, and myself, my family, and other Gold Star families have not seen any support from you or your administration. You may make all the promises about the economy and anything else you’d like to make promises about, but one thing that I ask of you—and the reason I’m making this message—is for you to stop making comments about your support for the military. As a Gold Star Father, I know you have not supported us. I know you have not supported other Gold Star families. Please, stop making these types of comments because that support has not been demonstrated. Your words are hollow and empty.” - Herman Lopez, Father of Corporal Hunter Lopez
The Gold Star family members also saw the withdrawal as an unwise political tactic.
“Vice President Harris, my name is Steve Nikoui. I’m the father of Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui, and your administration killed my son deliberately in exchange for a political theatric, so you could have a final day of the evacuation coincide with September 11, ignoring the advice of your generals, the DOHA agreement, and countless other veterans, and members of congress, denying the safety of the Afghans and the service men and women. Your choice to play politics in 2021 killed 170 Afghans, 13 US service members, and wounded 45 of our service members, as well as countless Afghans.” - Steve Nikoui, Father of Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui
Trump did post a compilation on his TikTok, with no call to action but voiceovers critical of Biden. It’s hard to argue the video isn’t “political” in nature, but it’s a stretch to say the law was broken. The law in question is 32 CFR § 553.32. It says, “Memorial services and ceremonies at Army National Military Cemeteries will not include partisan political activities,” The family says it wasn’t political, he had permission to be there, and Biden-Harris was also invited. They said Trump spoke very little. It wasn’t a campaign rally, and they didn’t discuss politics.
If he went to Arlington to make a political commercial, that isn’t appropriate. But there’s also no punishment within the law code either, so if Trump did break the law, it’s unclear what the repercussions should be.
But if the true contention is that it’s wrong to use footage of Arlington for political purposes, Trump’s short TikTok was a lot tamer than the Biden-Harris campaign’s 2020 attack on Donald Trump, using the debunked “losers and suckers” story, which Harris also invoked in her post. Biden used grieving families lying on top of caskets.
The media is painting this story through their favorite lens of “Republicans pounce.” This is when the media decides to report on something that could be damaging to a Democrat, but they don’t want to sincerely damage them, so they refocus on how Republicans are upset, to remind their audience that they shouldn’t agree with their enemies. That’s why the New York Times has headlines such as: “Trump Campaign Uses Statements from Gold Star Families to Attack Harris.”
It’s true that Trump highlighted their videos on X and a compilation video was cut, but the media could plainly report their genuine criticism.
Furthermore, if you’re more offended that Donald Trump attended a wreath laying ceremony with grieving families than you are with the administration that caused them to be Gold Star families, you need a heart check. If you’re more upset that Trump posted a TikTok video than you are about the fact that Kamala Harris never reached out to these families, you need a heart check. If you’re more upset that Trump had a thumbs up in a group photo than you are about President Biden holding no one accountable for the Afghanistan blunder, even after we retaliated by bombing an innocent aid worker and children, you definitely need a heart check.
You could argue that Trump is taking advantage of an opportunity (that the Biden-Harris administration created), but it’s obvious that Harris made the post about Arlington to be political and attack Trump. She wasn’t trying to protect the sacredness of Arlington while bringing up accusations from The Atlantic.
The Gold Star families have been seeking answers and accountability for years, and they have not received peace, justice, or anything close to closure. So, it’s not a surprise that many of them would invite Trump to honor their children, attend the RNC convention, go to rallies, and be willing to campaign to defeat Kamala Harris, who was the last one in the room with President Biden when he made that horrible decision that cost the lives of their children. They most likely feel that if President Trump had won reelection in 2020, their children would be alive today.
Now, they are making their voices heard. The least Kamala Harris can do is finally listen and acknowledge their pain.
