Gold Star families honored at RNC and say names of soldiers killed at Abbey Gate

MILWAUKEE — Republican National Convention attendees stood up and chanted "USA! USA.!" for the Gold Star families who lost loved ones when an ISIS-K suicide bomber attacked Kabul's airport during President Joe Biden 's Afghanistan withdrawal.

Thirteen service members died when the bomb exploded near Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport in August 2021. In addition to 169 Afghan civilians, 11 Marines, one soldier from the 8th Psychological Operations Group, and one Navy corpsman were killed.

The families of those military personnel addressed the Republican convention Wednesday, telling delegates while Biden checked his watch during their dignified transfer, former President Donald Trump knew their loved ones names. Each of the servicemembers' names were said aloud and the crowd repeated names back.

“[Biden] let my son down. He let the 13 down. He let the 45 wounded down. He let those 174 civilians down. He let our country down," Kelly Barnett, the mother of Marine Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, 31, said.

Earlier Wednesday, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) similarly criticized Biden over the Afghanistan withdrawal, which coincided with a drop in his approval ratings during the first year of his administration.

"We all remember Biden's disgraceful withdraw from Afghanistan," Waltz told the convention. "The 13 Gold Star families have to relive it every day... Biden won't even take their calls."

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"[President Trump] was scheduled to spend an hour with them," he said. "He spent 6 hours with them."

Biden reportedly clashed with Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) this month during a tense post-debate exchange over the president's reelection campaign, with Biden comparing his late son Beau's Bronze Star to that of Crow, despite the congressman earning his through combat valor or heroism during battle.