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‘Wrote Her Off’: Mother Of Abbey Gate Survivor Details Being Ghosted By Jill Biden During Son’s Recovery

September 27, 2024/in Elections, Featured, Hot Topics, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Social Issues, Socialism, Terrorism, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by The Daily Caller

A basket of muffins, a photo with the president, a few phone calls and one dinner.

That’s all Tiffany Andrews, mother of Abbey Gate survivor Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, says she received from the Biden-Harris administration in the three years since her son was severely wounded in the Kabul terrorist attack.

A single mother of three and California business owner, Andrews uprooted her life to be by her son’s side as he fought for his at Walter Reed Hospital. Her situation inspired her to create and push legislation for caretakers left without a livelihood as they cared for their wounded soldiers.

Despite visits, a personal phone call with First Lady Jill Biden and meetings with her aides, Andrews told the Daily Caller she was ultimately ignored by the administration.

“My naivety, right? I’m thinking the government’s going to swoop in and take care of us. Oh, God, was I so wrong,” Andrews said.

The Daily Caller recently sat down with Vargas-Andrews, who was severely wounded when a suicide bomber detonated himself outside Abbey Gate during the U.S. evacuation from Kabul, Afghanistan. He recounted his experience meeting President Joe Biden, being shunned by Vice President Kamala Harris, and coming face-to-face with death. The interview can be seen in full here.

This week, the Daily Caller sat with Andrews for an hour-long interview to hear her story as a caretaker for her son and how the Biden-Harris administration forgot about her family.

Watch the full interview by clicking here.

On Aug. 26, 2021, Vargas-Andrews was hit with more than 100 steel ball bearings, leaving him catastrophically injured. His stomach was ripped open, his left testicle exploded and his liver, bladder and spleen were lacerated and punctured. He eventually had his right arm and left leg amputated. Nearly 200 people were killed, including 13 American service members.

Forty-eight hours after learning her son had been bombed, Andrews found herself in Germany, leaving her three children and business behind to be with her dying son.

“I’ve just left my kids on the other side of the U.S. And I have an entire company where I’m taking care of 150 to 200 clients, 17 different employees, so 17 different families, and I’m a single mom, 100% with no other support to take care of my kids. I need to have a business to come back to,” Andrews told the Caller.

“I needed to know how I was going to still have a livelihood and come back, because I’m not leaving my son, who quite literally might die, and I needed to then come back to get my younger children and move them across the U.S. to stay with me. We were put in an apartment out there by the Yellow Ribbon fund, and that was incredibly grateful. But we didn’t have an income. You just cut the head of my company off. I was the highest biller. I was the one that managed everybody,” Andrews said, adding that while she was caring for Tyler she still had nearly $150,000 in monthly bills to pay on the west coast.

President Joe Biden and his wife Jill paid a visit to Vargas-Andrews his first week in Walter Reed. In anticipation of the president’s visit, Vargas-Andrews told his mom that he wanted to hold off all medication that day until the president came so he could be fully present.

“Tyler stopped all his medication because he wanted to be cognitive. He wanted to be present. He wanted to have a present conversation with the president, and so he stopped his medicine, and he asked the doctors to hold what they could,” Andrews said, noting that her son was in unbearable pain because of the double amputations and numerous surgeries he had undergone.

“It’s understandable as a professional, and given his nature of his position in society, that [Biden] would not necessarily be there on time. However, we waited for hours upon hours upon hours,” Andrews told the Caller. “What the president may not even know, is that that blown up marine sat there wanting to be able to have a decent conversation with him, and sat there all day without his pain meds after being catastrophically blown up.”

“Nobody said, ‘hey, maybe we need to give him more meds because he’s not going to be here for three hours… to help take the pain off.’ Nobody cared. Nobody. So there, my son sat for hours upon hours until the president did finally get there,” Andrews continued.

Though President Biden never visited or reached out to Vargas-Andrews or his mother again after that meeting, the first lady paid another visit to the wounded soldier in the middle of September 2021. At the time, she asked Andrews how she could help her. But just a few weeks after her son was bombed and was still in ICU, Andrews told the Caller she was still in a state of crisis and not prepared to answer the question.

Eventually, after being able to sort out where she needed help, Andrews expressed interest in creating legislation for caretakers of wounded soldiers that would allow them to receive funding from the government. After reaching out to Jill Biden’s office about it, the first lady called Andrews personally to discuss.

“I remember her saying, that’s how people actually make change in legislation that happens. It happens from somebody with life experience happen to them and they become very passionate and just kind of keep pushing. And we had a discussion about that,” Andrews said in an earlier phone call with the Caller. “She had said that she was going to connect me with her senior military advisor and with somebody legislatively.”

Soon, Rory Brosius, executive director of Joining Forces, reached out to Andrews. Then-Vice President Joe Biden teamed up with first lady Michelle Obama in 2011 to create Joining Forces, an initiative aimed at supporting “military and veteran families, caregivers and survivors.”

Over the span of a few months, Andrews told the Caller that she communicated with Brosius through text and a long phone call about her where she saw gaps in current legislation for caregivers in situations such as her own.

“We had a very lengthy phone call where I took some notes, and I still have those notes. And I went over all of this with her, and she had shared with me at that time that she had been involved in the prior caregiver legislation, and [that] she was involved in writing it, she said, ‘you’re right.’ She goes ‘we never contemplated a business owner being a caregiver, or somebody in your unique shoes,’” Andrews told the Caller.

“I appreciated the acknowledgement, and I was hopeful. And I was hopeful that maybe I’d been funneled in a direction with somebody that might be able to help,” she continued, adding that she had told her the country needed something equivalent to the PPP loans handed out during the coronavirus pandemic to small businesses.

After corresponding several times in the beginning of 2022, Andrews told the Caller she and Brosius met for dinner in Maryland on Aug. 5, 2022, to discuss how to push legislation for caregivers forward.

A few weeks later, one day before the first anniversary of the Abbey Gate terrorist attack, Andrews followed up the dinner conversation with a text. She had some more ideas on how to help people in her situation.

“How would I approach the President or First lady about possibly considering my student loan debt as a way to offset some of the fiscal injury my two minor kids and myself have suffered due to my relocation for 10 months to care for Sgt. Vargas Andrews?” a text from Andrews to Brosius, reviewed by the Caller, read. Andrews recalled that she had just seen news reports about the Biden administration’s widespread student loan forgiveness program, which she herself wasn’t eligible for, spawning the idea.

“How can I get caregiver legislation to consider modifying legislation for business owners and single parents – or who can I contact to assist me in making it better for future wounded warrior families in similarly situated shoes? I want caregiver legislation to look at this issue, I want to help those into the future. I will not be the first. am probably not the first and definitely won’t be the last,” the text continued before asking Brosius for her ideas and feedback.

Brosius marked the text read and Andrews said she never received any answer.

The First Lady’s office responded to Andrews’ story in a statement to the Caller, adding that in 2023 the president had signed an executive order to help military families, spouses and caregivers.

“There was engagement between our office and Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews’ family,” Vanessa Valdivia, a press secretary in the First Lady’s Office, told the Caller. “Joining Forces is informed by the lived experiences of military families, and brings their stories to policymakers at the White House and across the Administration. The experiences of military and veteran caregivers and their families informed President Biden’s executive order on increasing access to high-quality care and supporting caregivers for families.”

“The President’s executive order specifically directed actions to expand options for veterans with disabilities, and better support military and veteran caregiving families,” she continued.

Biden’s executive order primarily focused on expanding the availability and quality of child care and long-term care services via a series of executive branch programs. It did briefly touch on VA benefits for family caregivers for wounded troops, such as situations like the one that happened to Andrews: ” the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consider issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking by the end of this fiscal year that would make any appropriate modifications to eligibility criteria for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, which provides services and benefits, including a monthly stipend, for eligible caregivers of veterans who sustained a serious injury or illness in the line of duty.”

“The Biden administration just blew [my mom off when she reached out]. They just wrote her off. They didn’t care,” Vargas-Andrews told the Caller. “At the end of the day, they didn’t care. It’s disappointing, honestly, it’s very disappointing.”

Andrews told the Caller she never received any financial support from the Biden administration. Her children did receive a counselor provided by the regiment commander at Walter Reed in 2021. Andrews added that she was compensated for some travel and meals when she was visiting her son as he was healing from his injuries. While meeting with Brosius, Andrews told the Caller she was told she would reach out to the Dole Foundation to see if they could help provide for her in her situation. In Andrews’ last text to Brosius that she said went unanswered, she asked if such communication had been successful.

The White House cannot provide individual financial assistance, but can recommend resources within the federal government and through outside organizations, a White House official told the Caller.

But when it came to funds, taking care of her business and bills, non-profits Yellow Ribbon Fund and Semper Fi America’s Fund stepped in place of the government to support Andrews. In large part, funds raised in a GoFundMe for Tyler have helped keep Andrews and her family on their feet.

“Tell you what, that’s the hardest thing as a parent, is to accept help from your kid that is so catastrophically injured, and that’s the person that wants to help you. I remember him looking at me and him saying, ‘This didn’t just happen to me. It happened to our whole family, mom. And as a thank you to him, I will spend every day putting that money back because he shouldn’t have to. He’s given enough,” Andrews told the Caller.

Andrews is still interested in pushing legislation, both on caregiving and regarding child abuse cases – an area she has advocated for due to her professional experience.

“Somebody can benefit from my story. Different ways, different people can benefit. But I’m going to spend the next 45 years, God willing, that I’m here, 45 years doing the things that I’m setting out to do. I probably, I’ll land some, I may not land them all,” she added.

“I’ve learned as a leader that sometimes you have to navigate your direction. It will probably change at different points, but I have a list right now, and every day I work a little bit on that list, and I look forward to seeing where some of this goes,” Andrews finished.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to accurately reflect which Biden administration executive order the first lady’s office referred the Caller to.

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Blood Is On Their Hands’: Abbey Gate Survivor Describes Coming Face To Face With Joe Biden

September 21, 2024/in Elections, Hot Topics, Must Read, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Socialism, Terrorism/by The Daily Caller

President Joe Biden, alongside his wife Jill Biden, entered the hospital room of wounded Marine Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews. They had flowers with them. After shaking hands with Tyler’s mother, Biden began talking about losing his son Beau and his time in the service.

The president, Vargas-Andrews said, made no mention of the Afghanistan withdrawal in which he had nearly lost his life. It was unclear if his Commander-in-Chief was directly addressing him at all.

“[Then] Joe comes over to me, and he leans over, and he just sticks out his right hand, and my left arm is wrapped up in the cast. My right arm is not there, and I’m just looking at him. And he doesn’t even say anything. I’m just like, ‘I don’t have an arm,’” Vargas-Andrews said.

Without saying anything, Biden walked over to a few of Vargas-Andrews’ fingers sticking out from his cast and held onto them.

She falsely added that there are no more American soldiers in active combat zones.

Harris didn’t acknowledge other consequences of her decision to back Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the Kabul attack, many were wounded; some lost limbs. 13 American service members were killed.

Vargas-Andrews was one of those wounded. As a result of the Biden-Harris withdrawal, he was left without a right arm or a left leg. His stomach was ripped open, his left testicle exploded and his liver, bladder and spleen were lacerated and punctured.

“It’s just, I mean, it’s disgraceful,” Vargas-Andrews said of Harris’s debate response.

“I’m sure she did support it, as she said she was the last one out of the room,” he continued. “And, it’s the same with John Kirby saying he didn’t see any chaos from his perch when everything was happening. And recently came out saying that he wasn’t going to answer to a handful of veterans for the war in Afghanistan when this evacuation affected the entirety of the global war on terror, veterans and their families, and every single Gold Star family and everyone who lost limbs and everyone who was wounded and had friends die.”

“And it’s like, what was it for? What did they go and sacrifice over there for? It’s just dishonoring to everyone that served,” Vargas-Andrews added.

On Aug. 26, 2021, as the Biden-Harris administration was hastily leaving Afghanistan, about 45 Americans were hit in the attack. Vargas-Andrews was hit with more than 100 steel ball bearings. Nearly 200 people were killed.

Over the span of several months, Vargas-Andrews underwent 49 surgeries at Walter Reed Hospital. During his recovery time, he was fighting for his life.

“[In Germany] they brought my mom in and said goodbye. Resuscitated me both times, two or three. And then I got to Walter Reed, woke me up,” he said. “And over the course of a few days, I was like, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,’ and all I can do is move my head, and my arm is in this giant big foam block. And, obviously I don’t have [my right arm]. And I’m all opened up, tubes everywhere and stuff, and, ‘I can’t breathe.’”

“And they’re like, oh, ‘your pulse is fine. your blood’s oxygenated,’ and I’m like, ‘I can’t breathe.’ And then I just blacked out. Double pulmonary embolism.”

Vargas-Andrews said he had briefly died, adding that he needed to be resuscitated several more times after he had blacked out.

Finally, four months after the attack, two of which were spent in the ICU, Vargas-Andrews was cleared to leave the hospital as a double amputee.

The Biden-Harris administration has long been scrutinized for how it withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. The Gold Star parents have repeatedly criticized the president for the operation and failing to properly recognize their fallen children. Still, Biden reportedly told his aides that he stood by his team, and nobody was fired in the aftermath.

White House national security council spokesman John Kirby later said in April 2023 that Biden was “proud” of how the administration conducted its operation. Harris has repeatedly bragged about being the last one in the room when Biden made the decision to pull out.

The Biden-Harris administration released an internal review of its withdrawal in April 2023, blaming the chaos on former President Donald Trump because he had ordered communication with the Taliban, negotiated a withdrawal date and failed to leave the Biden administration a comprehensive plan on how the operation should be carried out.

“Everyone likes to say, ‘oh, well, Trump’s the one that met with the Taliban … he shook their hands and negotiated.’ Well, when people say that, they don’t like to bring up or look at the fact that there was the Doha Agreement and this long list of how we were going to pull out of Afghanistan, what the Taliban had to abide by, not killing, not raping, leaving women’s rights in place, not harassing us, all this stuff, how, where we were going to exit out of, and all that was thrown out the window,” Vargas-Andrews said.

On the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack, the tension came to a head.

Trump, at the invitation of the Gold Star families, attended a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. While he laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier, Vargas-Andrews stood with the former president.

Trump, the Gold Star families and Vargas-Andrews then moved to Section 60 where the fallen soldiers laid. While visiting the graves of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee, the former president snapped a photo and some videos with the families.

“I met former President Trump, we met him up at the tomb of the unknown soldier first. And he came in very somber, but friendly, and took the time to talk with anyone that wanted to talk to him, and the Secret Service wasn’t crowded around him or anything like that,” Vargas-Andrews said.

From there, the press made a fuss over an NPR report that an altercation occurred between a campaign official and an Arlington Cemetery official over photograph restrictions in Section 60. The Trump team denied the story and a source familiar with the event conversations previously told the Daily Caller that the Gold Star families had approved a campaign photographer to take photos of the ceremony.

“And at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, ultimately, those families wanted him there. They wanted his team there. They wanted him to be a part of that ceremony, because he’s the only one in the top of our nation’s government that’s showing them the love and care,” Vargas-Andrews told the Caller, adding that the Gold Star families had wanted Trump to take photos of the event.

Amid the controversy, Harris decided to weigh in. Via tweet, the vice president slammed Trump for filming videos while honoring the fallen soldiers. She wrote that, in her words, unlike the former president, “will always honor the service and sacrifice of all of America’s fallen heroes.”

Eight Gold Star families rebuked Harris’s comments, calling her out for never reaching out and ignoring requests to meet.

“It’s a joke that Kamala Harris is going to go on and say anything they can to shut down these families,” Vargas-Andrews said.

“That’s what it is at the end of the day, when you’re doing that, you’re shutting down these families, you’re shutting down the 13 Americans that were murdered on your watch, the 13 Americans that were murdered under the Biden administration, all of the active duty troops that are still in combat zones all over the world that she said aren’t,” he added.

Vargas-Andrews, who has never been approached by Harris or her office, told the Caller that he believes the vice president hasn’t reached out to the families because it would be admitting “that blood is on their hands.”

“She and the current administration are scared of the truth coming to light and having to face the consequences of their own actions and answer for those murdered Americans,” Vargas-Andrews told the Caller.

“If she acknowledges it, either of them took the time to say the names of the 13 Americans that were killed in action that day, that they still haven’t ever said, it would be recognizing their mistakes,” he continued.

While Harris has never reached out to Vargas-Andrews, Biden and his wife only spoke to him once, when he was recovering in Walter Reed.

Vargas-Andrews explained to the Caller that not long after arriving at Walter Reed, the second day he was awake, he was told the president wanted to visit him. Excited, Vargas-Andrews told the nurses to hold all his medication until the president arrived so he could be fully alert for the visit, which was expected to take place within an hour and a half.

But five hours later, the president was yet to show up.

Eventually a secret service agent entered the hospital room, prepping Vargas-Andrews, his mom Tiffany Andrews, and his best friend for the visit. It was in that moment Vargas-Andrews realized that because of the trauma he had endured, he had forgotten who the president was.

“I didn’t think it was Biden. I just was like, oh, man, the president,” he said. “That’s fucking cool. And, didn’t, you know, process in my brain. I couldn’t even, like, make the connection in my brain, good old TBI, I guess. But, I’m like, oh my God, I have no idea who the president is,” he recounted to the Caller.

Before concluding the visit, the president and the first lady took a photo with Vargas-Andrews and his mom. Biden left with some final remarks.

“They snapped a photo, and then, he leans over me, and he’s this close to my face and is like, ‘what do you want?’ I was like, and ‘what?’”

“He was like, ‘what do you want?’ ‘I just want to be me.’ That’s all I said. And he’s like ‘huh?’ and my mom says ‘he said he just wants to be himself.’ And he goes, ‘oh,’ stands up [with a] distant stare, stands up, doesn’t say anything, and Secret Service just rushes him out of the room,” Vargas-Andrews said.

After Vargas-Andrews was wounded, his mom dropped everything to be by her son’s side. She never received any financial support from the Biden administration. Instead several non-profits, including Yellow Ribbon Fund and Semper Fi America’s Fund, stepped in to support Andrews.

Abandoned by the Biden administration, Andrews works with Semper Fi America’s Fund and has connected with members of Congress to help push legislation aimed at supporting caretakers, Vargas-Andrews told the Caller.

The Biden-Harris administration’s lack of support hasn’t set Vargas-Andrews back. The double amputee has become open water diver scuba certified, started skydiving again and is going for his skydiving license. He’s working on getting his flight hours in so he can earn his sports pilot’s license. He’s also teamed up with other veterans to start a business, Flatline HardGoods, that sells t-shirts and hats donning Vargas-Andrews’ motto, “never a victim.”

He told the Caller he is the same man he was before the attack.

When Harris stood up on that debate stage, she may have whitewashed the results of her administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal, but for Vargas-Andrews and the Gold Star families, it’s something they can’t ignore.

“You need to answer for what you’ve done, for what everyone’s done, hold yourself accountable,” Vargas-Andrews said, on what message he would give Harris if she ever reached out.

“You need to hold everyone in our nation and our military that’s accountable,” he continued. “I am very doubtful, you know, not doubtful. I know that they’ll never do that. But, it’s the right thing to do … It’s really as simple as that. Those who are at fault need to answer for what they’ve done.”

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter.

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Harris Attempt To Attack Trump’s Arlington Visit Backfires Horribly When Gold Star Families Respond

September 1, 2024/in Elections, Featured, Hot Topics, National Security, News, Policy, Politics, Social Issues, Socialism/by The Daily Caller

Gold Star families spoke out against Vice President Kamala Harris after she weighed in on the controversy surrounding former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington Cemetery to honor the 13 soldiers killed in the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal.

Harris posted a tweet Saturday slamming Trump for filming videos while honoring the fallen soldiers, adding that she, unlike the former president, “will always honor the service and sacrifice of all of America’s fallen heroes.” Eight Gold Star families took to Twitter to rebuke Harris’s comments, explaining that they invited Trump to the cemetery for the ceremony and have never heard from the vice president in the three years since they lost their children in the August 2021 terrorist attack in Kabul.

“This is Mark Schmitz, gold star father of Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz. Here we are in a beautiful holiday weekend day, I got to stop what I’m doing, spending time with what’s left of my family, to address a heinous, vile and disgusting post put out by Kamala Harris trying to incite those that don’t follow the truth that President Trump was in Arlington as a political stunt – shows you how much you know about the 13 families, we invited him to be there,” Schmitz said in a video, posted by Trump on Twitter in a reply to Harris’ tweet.

“Groundwork was put into place by Congressman Issa’s office to make sure we followed protocol. Why did we want Trump there? It wasn’t to help his political campaign. We wanted a leader — that explains why you and Joe didn’t get a call. Imagine for a second that your kid is killed. There’s a president in the United States willing to take you under his wing and listen to you. That’s what we found in President Trump, certainly not you, and certainly not Joe Biden,” Schmitz continues in the nearly three minute video continues.

“You have 13 families who have been waiting over three years to so much as get a phone call, to so much as hear our kids names said aloud in the halls of Congress, the State of the Union, hell, anything. The irony behind your post, that you give a rat’s ass about our military or our veterans, Jared’s brothers and sisters in arms, the rest of the 12, their brothers and sisters in arms, is an outright lie. We’re living proof of that. You’re despicable. You have zero business running this country. And I pray to God Americans wake the hell up. and get your ass out of office. You have spit in our face for the last fucking time,” he finishes.

Trump’s trip to Arlington National Cemetery came under fire after NPR reported that there was a physical altercation between a campaign official and an Arlington National Cemetery staffer over photograph restrictions in Section 60, where fallen soldiers of recent American wars lay. The Trump team denied the story and a source familiar with the event conversations told the Daily Caller that the Gold Star families were okay with a campaign photographer taking photos of the ceremony.

Ahead of the ceremony, a Gold Star family told the Caller that Arlington National Cemetery was trying to put restrictions in place to block Trump’s visit — despite it being the families’ request. The situation escalated, causing Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to intervene to help Trump be able to participate in the ceremony, a Gold Star family told the Caller.

Neither Biden nor Harris participated in a public event to honor the 13 fallen soldiers killed during their administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal. Rather, they issued statements the morning of the anniversary while Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery.

“It is not a place for politics. And yet, as was reported this week, Donald Trump’s team chose to film a video there, resulting in an altercation with cemetery staff. Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt. This is nothing new from Donald Trump. This is a man who has called our fallen service members ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’ and disparaged Medal of Honor recipients,” Harris tweeted on Saturday about the NPR report.

Darin Hoover, the father of the late Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, Coral Doolittle, the mother of the late Corporal Humberto A. Sanchez, Jaclyn Schmitz, the mother of the late Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, Steve Nikoui, the father of the late Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui, Jim McCollum, the father of the late Lance Corporal Rylee McCollum, Herman Lopez, the father of the late Corporal Hunter Lopez, Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of the late Sergeant Nicole Gee and Schmitz all filmed videos in response to Harris, which were posted to Twitter by Trump.

“Vice President Harris, my name is Christy Shamblin. My daughter in law, Sergeant Nicole Leanne Gee, was killed in the Afghanistan exit at Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021. This year, for the third year anniversary of her murder, we welcomed President Donald J. Trump to Arlington to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with our family and to visit the cold graveside. President Trump and his team were respectful. They listened to our stories and didn’t talk much at all. We welcomed them that day, and they were a comfort to our family,” Shamblin said in the first video of the series posted to Twitter.

“Vice President Harris, I ask you, why won’t you return a call and explain to us how you call my daughter-in-law’s death a success? Vice President Harris, why will you not express your condolences yourself. Why have we never heard from you? And finally, why would you take a day where we celebrated the death of our loved one and use it to disparage not only them but us? President Trump has called. President Trump shows up. President Trump takes the time to hear our loved one’s stories. Why won’t you do the same, vice president?” she finished.

The Biden administration later reviewed its Afghanistan withdrawal in April 2023. The internal report wrote that Trump was to blame for the botched withdrawal because he had previously negotiated with the Taliban, agreed on a withdrawal date and failed to leave the Biden administration a comprehensive plan on how the operation should be carried out.

Harris has previously said she was the “last person in the room” with Biden when he decided to pull troops and American citizens out of the country. And amid all the backlash, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in April 2023 that the president was “proud” of its operation.

“Vice President Harris, my name is Jim McCollum. I am the Gold Star father of United States Marine Corps Lance Corporal Riley McCollum, killed in Afghanistan August 26, 2021. Your recent remarks related to Trump’s visit to Arlington are filled with nothing but lies and deceit. How do you sleep at night knowing it was you, this administration, you and Biden, you being the last one in the room are responsible for the death of our 13 kids. You failed for three years and eight months to acknowledge our kids, but to acknowledge me. You don’t know me. You’ve never spoken to me. You’ve never reached out to me,” McCollum said in a video.

“You have failed in your duties as vice president. You have been nothing but disrespectful to me and the families of the 13. Yet you’re claiming that you will always be respectful and show respect for our fallen, you’ve been absent for three years and eight months. You’ve proven that you’re not capable to do the job that you have, let alone the job that you seek,” he continued.

AUTHOR