President Biden remained on vacation with no remarks or scheduled events on the third anniversary of the Kabul airport attack, just weeks after criticizing former President Donald Trump for earlier canceling a World War I commemorative visit.
During his presidency, Trump canceled a planned visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in 2018, citing poor weather for flying on Marine One, and The Atlantic reported that the trip was canceled due to rain affecting his hair. Biden visited the cemetery in France in June and mocked Trump for the earlier report, which Trump and several members of his administration who were on the trip have since refuted.
“It was an honor for me to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and pay my respects to those buried there. Those who served our country are heroes, not losers,” Biden posted on X in June, alongside a compilation of videos of people criticizing Trump.
Monday marked three years since 13 US service members were killed in a suicide bomb attack during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, while Biden remained out of the White House for a second consecutive week.
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“On the anniversary of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the midst of an ongoing migration and economic crisis, President Biden continues to do what he does best: NOTHING!” Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., said in a post on X.
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Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said Biden’s absence “should tell you everything you need to know.”
“Three years ago, the disastrous Biden-Harris withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members. President Trump attended their memorial service at Arlington Cemetery today,” Biggs wrote on X. “Biden is on vacation.”
Gold Star parent Mark Schmitz told Fox News Digital that he was “not surprised in the least that neither of them showed up to this event.”
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump places a wreath next to Marine Corporal Kelsee Lainhart (Ret.) and Marine Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews (Ret.), who were injured in the Abbey Gate attack, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery August 26, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. (Anna Moneymaker)
The White House issued a statement on the anniversary, but Biden did not attend any commemorative ceremonies, according to his public schedule.
“Three years ago, an ISIS suicide bomber launched a deliberately vicious attack at Abbey Gate, just outside Kabul’s airport, killing 13 American service members and more than 100 innocent Afghans. Today, and every day, we honor our fallen,” Biden said in a statement.
The president’s beach stay is his second vacation this month after spending the week of the Democratic National Convention in Santa Barbara, California.
The White House National Security Council communications adviser was pressed on whether a paper statement was “sufficient” for the anniversary.
President Biden sits in a beach chair with his wife, first lady Jill Biden, in Rehoboth Beach, Del., Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (Leigh Green)
“Neither going to Arlington nor any individual paper declaration is going to be enough to reimburse these families and try to make sure they know they’re getting support,” John Kirby told CNN.
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Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery on the anniversary to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate service members who lost their lives in Afghanistan. Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and the Trump campaign were also joined by family members of Gold Star soldiers during a call with reporters Monday afternoon.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
