‘America’s Newsroom’s’ Kelly Barnett says Biden and Harris were extended an invitation but’refused’ to go.
When former President Trump visited Arlington Cemetery to pay tribute to the 13 military heroes who lost their lives in a terrorist assault during the US departure from Afghanistan, a Gold Star mother corrected the record.
Kelly Barnett, the mother of Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, who was killed in 2021 in the ISIS-K attack, clarified that Vice President Harris and President Biden were invited but did not appear on “America’s Newsroom.”
“Neither her nor him received a particular invitation from me. Barnett informed co-host Bill Hemmer on Tuesday that Governor Cox of Utah had written to Biden informing him of the celebration and ceremony planned, and advising him that it would be beneficial for him to attend.
Additionally, they were informed about the event by Arlington Cemetery, so they attended without receiving a response from either. Thus, they knew about the event. They declined to come even though they knew it would be in their best interests to be there,” she went on.
At a wreath-laying ceremony held last Monday at the national cemetery in Virginia, Trump joined Gold Star families in remembering the 13 military personnel who lost their lives in the terrorist assault that took place at Abbey Gate, which is located outside of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, on August 26, 2021.
Barnett added that because the former president had supported the other families during their grief process, she and the other families felt compelled to invite him. Fox News earlier claimed that they had also given the go-ahead for a Trump campaign photographer to take pictures of the occasion.
Media outlets like NPR and the Associated Press said after the event that the photographer had taken pictures in an area that is off-limits to political activities. The U.S. Army also said that a cemetery staff member had been “abruptly pushed aside” during the ceremony.
Participants in the ceremony on August 26th and the ensuing Section 60 visit were apprised of federal statutes, Army guidelines, and Department of Defense directives that unequivocally forbid political activity on cemetery premises. An ANC staff member who made an effort to make sure that these guidelines were followed was quickly ignored, the Army stated in a statement.
According to Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung, the employee who had stopped the campaign photographers seemed to be experiencing a “mental health episode.” He said that permission had been given for the campaign to bring a photographer.
“The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and, for whatever reason, an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” he stated.
It was a “quiet” and “peaceful” day mourning her son and the other lives lost, Barnett said, pushing back against the accusations. She said she saw nothing connected to the purported confrontation.
“It was so respectful and so quiet and peaceful as it always is at Arlington,” Barnett remarked. “People were muttering to one another. We had a conversation. I knew Donald Trump well. We were chatting about Taylor, the lovely day, and how appreciative I was that he was there. Nothing was spoken to me. I’m not sure where this happened. I’m not aware of the cause.”
“We heard nothing for the entire day. Up until the next day, when it was broadcast on NPR, she went on.
Harris accused Trump on “politicizing” the slain service soldiers at his Saturday visit to Arlington, targeting Trump on X.
“I’ve had the honor of visiting Arlington National Cemetery several times while serving as vice president. It is a somber location where we unite to pay tribute to American warriors who have given their lives in defense of this country,” the author stated. Politics have no place there. Nevertheless, as this week’s reports revealed, Donald Trump’s group decided to record a video there, which led to a confrontation with cemetery employees. To be clear, the former president disregarded holy ground out of concern for the
The families of the 13 service soldiers who lost their lives in combat then issued an advertisement criticizing the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the fatalities.
They criticized the president and vice president for never returning calls and for never disclosing the identities of the military personnel who passed away three years prior.
“Why do they hurl daggers at us is absurd. It doesn’t make sense that they hurl daggers at him, she said, unless they were upset that he was with us and felt guilty about not being there.
