A Gold Star mother shocked a CNN host on Wednesday by reporting that Joe Biden has never reached out to her family after her daughter died during the botched withdrawal in Afghanistan in 2021. Thirteen troops died at Kabul Airport’s Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021, during the disastrous withdrawal that the Biden White House called a ‘success.’ Not everyone shares that opinion.
Christy Shamblin, the mother of Sgt. Nicole Gee, one of the Marines killed in the suicide bombing, has reached out to the White House for an explanation, only to be ignored. She told CNN anchor Abby Phillip, “He has not reached out to our family. We’ve actually reached out to the White House and have never heard back. We asked to meet with them to kind of understand where their thinking was in calling [the withdrawal] a success. It’s been months.”
This was in response to Phillip’s question whether she felt that Biden had shown the appropriate support after the unnecessary and tragic death of her daughter. Shamblin appeared at Thursday night’s State of the Union address as a guest of Texas Representative Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that featured Gold Star dad Steve Nikoui heckling Biden and eventually being arrested. Nikoui son, Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui was also killed in the attack.
Shamblin has been critical of the botched withdrawal as well as Biden’s behavior in the aftermath. She spoke at a congressional forum in 2023 along with other members of the 13 dead service members’ families. She said at the time: “To call it a success is an ultimate disrespect for the very people that deserve every ounce of respect that we can give them.”
Abby Phillip, obviously unaware that Biden had snubbed Shamblin, was visibly taken aback to learn that he indeed had not. Phillip asked the grieving mom if she thought Biden was the “consoler-in-chief,” saying: “He does talk to families that have lost loved ones because of his own experiences. Have you spoken to him?” When Shamblin gave her response, a clearly stunned Phillips stammered: “I’m sorry to hear that.”
McCaul said Tuesday when speaking about Shamblin: “More than two years after the death of Christy’s daughter-in-law and 12 other U.S. servicemembers at Abbey Gate, the Biden administration still refuses to take accountability for the tragedy it caused. I hope Christy’s attendance sends a clear signal to President Biden and the American people that I will not rest until a complete and thorough investigation has occurred — and that people are held accountable for what happened.”
When asked what Shamblin hoped to hear during Thursday’s speech, she said: “I want to hear how he’s going to strengthen our armed forces and support them and answer our questions and lead to a thorough investigation like he promised, so we can move forward in a positive way and make it better.” Obviously, this didn’t happen, leading to the enraged Gold Star dad and his angry outburst.
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