Gold Star families have stated that Vice President Kamala Harris’s criticism of former President Donald Trump—where she accused him of politicizing his visit to Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 13 service members who died due to the Biden administration’s flawed withdrawal from Afghanistan—has made them “targets for a lot of hate.”
On Tuesday, Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle hosted War Room and spoke with the families of the fallen service members. Harris’s attack on Trump, and by extension on these families, led to accusations that they were allowing Trump to use them for political gain, as suggested in a weekend post by Harris.
As Vice President, I have had the privilege of visiting Arlington National Cemetery several times. It is a solemn place; a place where we come together to honor American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of this nation.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 31, 2024
It is not a place for politics.
And…
They asserted that this claim is completely false.
Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, expressed her shock upon seeing Harris’s post, noting that they had also extended invitations to President Biden and Vice President Harris to attend Arlington that day.
“I was shocked when I saw her post. You know, we did invite them to Arlington that day, and we never heard any response, just as we’ve never heard any response from any of our attempts at communication with President Biden and Vice President Harris and the White House,” she said.
“And it’s — having her post that on social media has made us a target for a lot of hate right now. And it’s shocking,” she added.
Steve Nikoui, father of Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, expressed that he was “shocked” by Harris’s statement, similar to Christy. He found it ironic that Harris is accusing Trump of politicizing the situation while she is engaging in the same behavior.
“But not to — not to a great extent, you know, the one that’s claiming that, you know, we’re playing politics, or that he’s playing politics — it’s actually her that’s playing politics,” he said.
Jim McCollum, father of Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, told Boyle that he felt “disappointed” and somewhat “hurt” by Harris’s statement.
“We’re kind of used to having that scab ripped off and feeling a little bit of pain, but this one — it became personal, and it was such a beautiful moment, finally, to recognize the kids — something that hasn’t happened in a long time, and we’ve kept our kids out of the politics,” he explained.
“We’ve never discussed it, but it’s just like, you know, out of respect for our kids, we’ve never included them in politics, and they made it political, and for me, that became personal,” McCollum added.
