ROSEVILLE, Calif. — At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Gold Star families brought the audience to tears. Among the speakers was Christy Shamblin, mother-in-law to Roseville Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee.
Gee, 23, was among 13 U.S. troops and 60 Afghans killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan. Shamblin shared how former President Donald Trump helped her and her family grieve.
"While Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice, Donald Trump spent six hours at Bedminster with us," Shamblin told the RNC audience.
Day three of the RNC focused on national security and foreign policy. Also taking the stage with Shamblin were veterans who criticized the Biden administration's handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Shamblin thanked former President Trump for helping her not feel alone in her grief.
"He allowed us to remember our heroes. Donald Trump knew all of our children's' names, and he spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood," Shamblin told the RNC audience.
Many of the Gold Star families have criticized Biden for never publicly naming their loved ones. On stage Wednesday, one of the family members named each of the 13 service members, and the crowd echoed back each name as it was read aloud.
The crowd chanted “Never forget!” and “U.S.A.!” as Trump and the entire convention hall stood.
Republicans have claimed that Biden’s decision to remove U.S. soldiers after the two-decade war in Afghanistan was a strictly political move. But the agreement for the U.S. to withdraw from Afghanistan was signed by Trump’s administration in February 2020. The deal called for American troops to be out by May 2021, but Trump left office that January without leaving a plan in place for the actual withdrawal of forces.
Several months before the peace deal with the Taliban was signed in Doha, Qatar, Trump had contemplated inviting the Taliban leadership to Camp David to sign an agreement. Those plans, which were vehemently objected to by senior military officials, were put on hold after a Taliban attack that killed a U.S. soldier.
Criticism of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan resonates with voters across party lines. Former Biden supporters, such as former New Hampshire House Speaker Steve Shurtleff, have cited the botched withdrawal as one reason why he wants Biden to step aside.
The display on the RNC's third day was an implicit response to Biden's repeated rebukes of Trump and his allegations that the former president doesn't respect veterans. Biden has often brought up a claim by retired Gen. John Kelly, who was Trump’s chief of staff, that Trump referred to slain World War II soldiers as losers and suckers. Trump denies the allegation.
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