Donald Trump Honors Abbey Gate Fallen Who Joe Biden Disgracefully Ignored | Mary Katharine Ham
On August 26, 2021, 13 American service members were killed by a suicide bomber at Abbey Gate outside the Kabul airport during a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. This week, they were mentioned by a president in a joint session for the first time. President Trump announced Tuesday the arrest of the alleged terrorist ringleader who planned their murders in front of Congress.
"Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan…
"Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice. And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster. This was a very momentous day for those 13 families, who I actually got to know very well, most of them, whose children were murdered and the many people that were so badly — over 42 people — so badly injured on that fateful day in Afghanistan. What a horrible day."
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 4: President Donald J Trump addresses a joint session of Congress. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Newly minted FBI Director Kash Patel stood on the tarmac at Dulles Airport to transfer custody of the alleged perpetrator as the speech was happening.
Biden Failed The Abbey Gate Families
It was a horrible day, and one that President Biden was prone to dismissing. When he did mention the deaths in passing while addressing the withdrawal, he called the operation that killed them an "extraordinary success," which was maybe worse than silence. During his presidency, the Abbey Gate families were not honored guests and their stories went unmentioned. Biden had three State of the Union addresses in which to honor the 11 Marines, one Navy Corpsman, and one soldier killed during the administration’s disastrous withdrawal, rushed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of 9/11, leaving billions in equipment and imperiled interpreters to fearful fates under the Taliban. Biden declined.
Sometimes called the Consoler-in-Chief by his political allies, Biden benefited from a picture of himself as the ultimate empathizer. His origin story is one of great tragedy, having lost his first wife and young daughter in a car accident and subsequently run for his first Congressional seat while his injured young sons healed. But when it comes to talking to or of the victims of the biggest one-day casualty in a decade in Afghanistan, his record is bad. Five other service members died in Jordan and Somalia within the two months before Biden’s last State of the Union address, but they also went unmentioned.
In contrast, Trump notes he knows the Abbey Gate families "very well." That’s because when they sought the recognition they deserved from Biden and were rebuffed, Trump checked in with them repeatedly over the years.
Trump Honors The Fallen
In July of 2024, they got a prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention to honor their lost warriors, in one of the most moving moments of either convention.
Gold Star families of US military members who were killed at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan in August 2021 speak during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Pedro UGARTE / AFP) (Photo by PEDRO UGARTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden’s treatment was worse than mere neglect of these families, who should have all the thanks our nation can possibly give. When no one was fired in the wake of the withdrawal, the Abbey Gate families clamored for answers and accountability. Biden did not take calls or meetings with them. He also falsely claimed many times his son, Beau, was killed in Iraq. Beau Biden served honorably, later dying of brain cancer too young. But President Biden is not a Gold Star father, as he claimed. The distinction is not lost on those who are.
The Abbey Gate families reported being made to wait hours for the dignified transfer of their loved ones’ caskets while Biden rested. They bristled when he was caught on camera checking his watch. Then-Press Secretary Jen Psaki later lied in her book to cover this faux pas, saying Biden never did it, but had to correct the record when people noticed.
The audacity of the Biden camp and its many press allies on this issue was revealed yet again when an Arlington Cemetery ceremony honoring the Abbey Gate 13 on the anniversary of their murders became national news in 2024. Was it because media was interested in covering the 13 service members and their families? No. It was because the media decided that it was improper for Trump to lay a wreath at the ceremony to which he was invited by the families Biden had ignored. Kamala Harris piled on, accusing him of "disparaging sacred ground."
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - AUGUST 26: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump stands alongside Bill Barnett (L), who's grandson Staff Sgt Darin Taylor Hoover died in Abbey Gate Bombing, during a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
"I will always honor the service and sacrifice of all of America’s fallen heroes, who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our beloved nation and our cherished freedoms. I mourn them and salute them. And I will never politicize them," Harris said. She did not attend the dignified transfer with Biden, had never reached out to the families, and had ignored their calls and requests, according to the families, who later recorded testimonials condemning Harris and defending Trump’s visit.
‘Remember Their Names’
"The families were there grieving alongside President Trump and it was a really special moment to really remember their names," Tulsi Gabbard told CNN’s Dana Bash at the time. Bash was prepared to pepper Gabbard with questions about rules, regulations, and laws surrounding ceremonies at Arlington, but she didn’t even know what anniversary they were marking, guessing it was "about two years ago" before Gabbard sternly corrected her.
One year ago, Gold Star father Steve Nikoui attended Biden’s last State of the Union as a guest of Rep. Brian Mast. Nikoui’s son, Kareem, was a Marine killed at Abbey Gate. When Biden said America was safer than when he took office, Nikoui yelled "Abbey Gate" and "United States Marines" from the gallery. The Gold Star father was arrested and charged with a crime (the charge was later dropped).
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 9: A sign displaying photos and names of the 13 service members killed in a terrorist attack at Abbey Gate outside Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport is seen during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 9, 2024 in Washington. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
It is the solemn job of any Commander in Chief to do the hard thing and answer to those who lose their loved ones in operations he orders. The old empathizer in chief proved incapable of honoring those we lost at Abbey Gate. Instead they were ignored, insulted, and even arrested.
In 2025, Trump arrested the guy who killed Nikoui’s son. To borrow a phrase from Trump himself, "we just needed a new president."
The Fallen Heroes Of Abbey Gate
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas
Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, Calif.
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn.
Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Calif.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif.
Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.
Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Ind.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Mo.
Navy Hospital Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio
Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Neb.