It was former President Donald Trump — not President Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris — whom Gold Star families invited to lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to honor the 13 service members killed three years ago in a terrorist attack at the Kabul airport during the hasty U.S. pullout from Afghanistan.
Mr. Trump, who is running neck-and-neck or slightly behind Ms. Harris in national and battleground state polls, seized on the anniversary of the tragic attack to condemn the Biden administration’s foreign policies and link them directly to Ms. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
Some of the families of the troops killed in the attack invited Mr. Trump to the ceremony arranged with the National Park Service. They did not invite Biden administration officials.
The event served as a reminder of the bitter anger many families feel toward Mr. Biden about his handling of the withdrawal, which was largely blamed for creating a chaotic scene and leaving troops vulnerable to the bombing at the Abbey Gate at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The withdrawal debacle, which handed Afghanistan back to the Taliban, also started a downfall in Mr. Biden’s approval ratings that never recovered.
The speed and execution of Mr. Biden’s order were primarily blamed for leaving U.S. troops vulnerable to the suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport.
In addition to the 13 service members killed, 45 other Americans on the mission were grievously wounded.
One of them, Marine Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart, who was paralyzed in the terrorist attack, helped Mr. Trump place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Later in the day, Mr. Trump addressed the National Guard Association in Detroit and warned that Ms. Harris, if elected president, would create worse foreign policy debacles and lead the nation into World War III.
“The whole world is blowing up,” Mr. Trump said. “Caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world,” Mr. Trump said. “It gave us Russia going into Ukraine. It gave us the Oct. 7 attack on Israel because it gave us lack of respect. We’re not respected.”
Joining Mr. Trump on the Detroit stage was former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who represented Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District. She is a former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.
A lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, Ms. Gabbard cited her former party’s foreign policy stance in her decision to endorse Mr. Trump.
“This administration has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts and regions around the world and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before,” Ms. Gabbard said.
Ms. Gabbard is the second former Democrat in a week to endorse Mr. Trump. On Friday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who left the party to run for president as an independent, suspended his campaign and supported Mr. Trump. Like Ms. Gabbard, Mr. Kennedy said foreign policy was part of the reason and accused Democrats of becoming “the party of war.”
Mr. Trump echoed those lines on Monday. Ms. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, “want endless war,” he said. “I will prevent World War III.”
Mr. Trump bombarded the Harris campaign as she scrambled to burnish her foreign policy credentials.
Ms. Harris broadly outlined her foreign policy positions during her acceptance speech last week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She pledged to “ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world” and promised to take care of troops and their families. She took a jab at Mr. Trump over allegations, which he denies, that he insulted military members in past private comments. She pledged to “always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice.”
As president, Ms. Harris said she would ensure that the United States will “stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies” and walk a fine line on the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. She endorsed Israel’s right to defend itself but called for a cease-fire deal that would end the war and give the Palestinian people “security, freedom and self-determination.”
Ms. Harris aligned herself again Monday with the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
In past interviews, she touted her key role in planning the pullout, which military officials later said left troops vulnerable to attacks.
Among her claims is that she was the last person to speak with Mr. Biden before the Afghanistan withdrawal plan was finalized.
She told CNN in a past interview that she was satisfied with how the troop retreat was carried out.
Ms. Harris did not appear in public Monday but issued a statement reinforcing her support for how the pullout was executed.
“As I have said, President Biden made the courageous and right decision to end America’s longest war,” her statement said. “Over the past three years, our administration has demonstrated we can still eliminate terrorists, including the leaders of al Qaeda and ISIS, without troops deployed into combat zones.”
Mr. Biden also remained out of public view and issued a statement recognizing the fallen troops.
Mr. Trump called the withdrawal a massive debacle and the nation’s most embarrassing moment. He said that if Ms. Harris wins in November, her incompetence on foreign policy could lead to worse foreign entanglements.
“Kamala bragged that she was the last person in the room. She was the tough one,” Mr. Trump said in a video posted on Truth Social. “She was the last person in the room during that disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan decision. She repeatedly praised the decisions, and she said it led to a catastrophe, but it was worth it.”
A Fox News poll released this month found voters trust Mr. Trump more than Ms. Harris on foreign policy, 52% to 45%.
The issue ranks at the bottom of voters’ concerns, dwarfed by inflation, the economy and illegal immigration in most surveys.
When asked about the importance of national security and foreign policy, most voters say it matters greatly to them.
An Economist/YouGov poll conducted Aug. 17-20 found that 87% of voters viewed foreign policy as important and 46% said it was very important.
Mr. Trump reminded his military audience in Detroit that no wars began while he was president.
“And the reason I started no new wars is I respected the people in this room,” Mr. Trump said.
• Mike Glenn contributed to this report.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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