Gold Star father says Biden 'bristled' when told to learn stories of fallen service members: Washington Post
Mark Schmitz said Biden responded bluntly 'I do know their stories'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Gold Star father said President Joe Biden bristled and bluntly responded to his request that he learn the stories of his Marine son and the 12 other service members killed last week in Afghanistan, according to a report.
Mark Schmitz, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, told the Washington Post about his tense encounter with the president, whom he said he glared at while Biden spoke to him and his ex-wife about their fallen son.
To his chagrin, Schmitz said Biden spoke more about his son, Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015, than Jared.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Eventually, the parents took out a photo to show to Biden," the Post's Matt Viser reported. "I said, ‘Don’t you ever forget that name. Don’t you ever forget that face. Don’t you ever forget the names of the other 12,’" Schmitz said. "‘And take some time to learn their stories.’" Biden did not seem to like that, Schmitz recalled, and he bristled, offering a blunt response: "I do know their stories."
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Biden has long been lauded for his ability to empathize and connect with people in grief, given his history of family tragedy – in addition to the death of his son Beau, he lost his first wife and young daughter in a car accident in 1972.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, accounts from Schmitz and other family members of the service members killed in the terrorist suicide attack near the Kabul airport have cut against that reputation. He's also taken criticism for appearing to look repeatedly at his watch during the dignified transfer of the fallen troops. Biden has defended the chaotic troop withdrawal that saw the Taliban seize control of the country and the Islamic State suicide bombing that marked the worst day for U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan since 2011.
Cheyenne McCollum, the sister of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, told "Fox & Friends" that she wasn't able to stomach talking with Biden during their meeting. She also said he spoke more about his own son than her brother.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden looks down alongside First Lady Jill Biden as they attend the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen service member at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, August, 29, 2021, one of the 13 members of the US military killed in Afghanistan last week. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
"I was able to stand about 15 seconds of his fake, scripted apology and I had to walk away," Cheyenne said.
Schmitz also talked about his son and the tense conversation with Biden on "Hannity" Monday.
"He talked a bit more about his own son than he did my son, and that didn't sit well with me," Schmitz said..
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Schmitz if he saw Biden checking his watch during the ceremony to receive the 13 caskets of the fallen heroes.
"Yes I did," he replied. "I leaned into my son's mother's ear and I said ‘I swear to God if he checks his watch one more time’ -- and that was probably only four times in: I couldn't look at him anymore after that."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Considering the time and why we were there, I found it to be the most disrespectful thing I'd ever seen."