Gold Star mother Kelly Barnett, whose son died in the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, expressed disappointment in President Biden for denying troop deaths in a recent debate.
She believes he was misled into making the offensive remark.
“I was not shocked. I was angry,” Barnett said. “I believe in my soul [that] President Biden is gone. He can’t remember what he had for breakfast. I do believe he was told to say that. They want him out. I believe it was a set-up, and…however, far gone [he is] and even if I feel sorry for him, it’s still disgusting.”
“We haven’t heard a word. Seven of the families, we’ve started a coalition, and we have begged. We have sent letters and emails, please talk to us. We want to talk to you. It has been refused and no word whatsoever,” she said.
Barnett contrasted Biden’s lack of contact with her family to Trump’s immediate outreach after her son’s death.
She hopes Biden remains in office to be held accountable for his actions.
“He cares about my son, he cares about our military,” she said of Trump.
“He needs to stay in. I don’t think they will let him in some way, shape, or form, but he needs to stay in, and he needs to answer. The whole Biden administration needs to answer for what they’ve done,” she said. “And I just hope that they continue and let him stay in and let Trump slide right through.”
“The whole Biden administration knows what they did wrong and what they continue to do to our families. Again, disgusting,” she added.
At a ceremony, her daughter confronted Biden for repeatedly checking his watch, symbolizing the ongoing lack of respect felt by Gold Star families.
“I witnessed him check his watch three times. I finally told my daughter because she was getting so upset, ‘Don’t look at him anymore. Stop looking at him,'” Barnett’s daughter said. “She was getting more and more frustrated. And so finally the last service member came out, and they drove away and Biden was standing out there, and she did scream at him.”
“She couldn’t hold it in anymore. She meant every word that she said to him but it goes to show you the frustration. There are no words to explain how much disrespect we have gotten, how disrespected we feel. And I think this was the only thing that she could do to make herself feel better,” Kelly said.
