Gold Star father says Blinken must resign: 'Something has to change'
Gold Star father Mark Schmitz on the need to hold top Biden officials accountable for the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal that resulted in the death of 13 American soldiers, including his son.
Gold Star father Mark Schmitz joined "Fox & Friends" Wednesday to call on top Biden administration officials to be held accountable for the Afghanistan withdrawal that resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members, including his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz.
Schmitz called out Secretary of State Antony Blinken directly, labeling him as "the biggest culprit" for how the 2021 operation unfolded.
In response to U.S. generals speaking out Tuesday about the withdrawal, Schmitz said he believes there are additional retired commanders that want to speak out, but are being "hushed."
"First and foremost, I personally request the resignation of Blinken. I think he needs to go. You look at this administration and the policies that they've been making since Biden took office. And I'm not trying to go political with this, but we're watching embassies being evacuated left and right. It just shows a complete weakness on behalf of this administration. And something has to change," he told Ainsley Earhardt.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks at the 67th Session of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs at Vienna International Center, in Vienna, Austria, on March 15, 2024. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool)
Schmitz attended President Biden's State of the Union address earlier this month in Washington, D.C., where a fellow Gold Star father shouted at the president in protest and was arrested.
Brian Schwalb, the Democratic attorney general in Washington, D.C., dropped the charges against Steve Nikoui for disrupting Congress.
Nikoui is the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, who was also killed in the suicide bombing at Kabul Airport's Abbey Gate. Nikoui shouted "Remember Abbey Gate" and his son's name from the upper level of the chamber.
A demonstrator shouts as US President Joe Biden, not pictured, speaks during a State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Election-year politics will increase the focus on Biden's remarks and lawmakers' reactions, as he's stumping to the nation just months before voters will decide control of the House, Senate, and White House. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The DC AG’s office told Fox News that it decided not to prosecute, just as they have in the cases of protesters in the past.
Schmitz described Steve as a "hero" and said several of the other Gold Star parents, including himself, considered their own protests.
"Most of us elected not to speak out, but for what Steve did, I think it's fantastic. This was a dream of his to have his son's name uttered in those walls, and he did that. Unfortunately, he had to do it himself, because here we are, two and a half years later, and Biden is still yet to mention our kids' names."
Schmitz welcomed the charges being dropped, but added that they shouldn't have been brought in the first place.
Schmitz concluded by remembering his son Jared, saying "he loved everybody."
"His sisters and the rest of my family miss him terribly. We just miss his smile, and his charismatic personality. His laugh, I mean, that was probably the most infectious. So he was just one hell of a human being. I can't wait to see him again."
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Fox News' Chad Pergram and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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