Tulsi Gabbard slams Biden’s and Harris’s lack of honoring Abbey Gate victims on anniversary – Washington Examiner

Asher NotheisAugust 27, 2024

Former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard criticized President Joe Biden⁢ and Vice President Kamala⁣ Harris‍ for their absence during‍ the third anniversary of the Abbey‌ Gate attack, which resulted⁤ in the⁤ deaths of ‍13 ⁢service members during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gabbard pointed⁢ out that while Biden was on vacation in Delaware and Harris was campaigning, former President Donald⁤ Trump took‌ time to honor the victims at Arlington National Cemetery. She expressed deep personal feelings regarding ⁤the ‌impact of war and ⁣emphasized the need for leaders who prioritize diplomacy. Gabbard, ⁣who left the Democratic Party⁢ in 2022 and has endorsed Trump, argued that his leadership recognizes ⁢war as a last resort, contrasting it ‍with Harris’s⁢ approach. She also raised questions about whether Harris reached out to the families affected by the ⁤attack, labeling the deaths as “completely preventable” and ‍warning that the current administration’s policies‍ have increased the risk ⁣of nuclear war. Gabbard concluded by framing ‌the ⁤political divide as ⁣a choice between freedom and peace under Trump’s leadership versus censorship and conflict under Harris’s administration.

Tulsi Gabbard slams Biden’s and Harris’s lack of honoring Abbey Gate victims on anniversary

Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard blasted President Joe Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’s absences on the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack, arguing former President Donald Trump took the action they should have.

Biden is at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on vacation after spending almost a week in California, while Harris is campaigning for president based on “joy and vibes,” Gabbard noted. Trump, meanwhile, visited Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 13 service members who were killed by a suicide bomber during the United States’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“This is personal for me, Judge, and so many other Americans who know firsthand the cost of war,” Gabbard said on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle, guest-hosted by Judge Jeanine Pirro. “We’ve seen and experienced it firsthand. We know how important it is to have a commander in chief who values every single one of our lives and who has the strength and the courage to exercise all means of diplomacy, meeting with dictators, allies, adversaries, partners in the pursuit of peace, recognizing that war is always and should always be a last resort.”

Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in October 2022, explained she endorsed Trump on Monday because he is a leader who recognizes war should be the last option, whereas Harris “is not.” She also warned that the U.S. and the world are closer to nuclear war because of Biden and Harris’s leadership.

The former presidential candidate also asked if Harris had contacted any of the families of the 13 service members and apologized for her and Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. She added that these 13 deaths were “completely preventable.”

“It’s not about Democrats versus Republicans,” Gabbard said. “It’s about having a president who stands for freedom, peace, and prosperity, which is Donald Trump, versus having a president in Kamala Harris, who attacks our freedoms and censors us and uses political retaliation, who has pushed us to the brink of war, and who’s created this economic hardship for Americans across the country. That’s really the choice that we have before us, and for me, as a service member, as a veteran, it’s a very clear choice.”

On Truth Social, Trump described the Afghanistan withdrawal as “the most EMBARRASSING moment in the history of our Country.” He also shared a post on social media honoring the 13 service members.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced on Monday that the 13 service members killed in the Abbey Gate bombing will posthumously receive the Congressional Gold Medal on Sept. 10 in a ceremony at the Capitol.