After an attack in Jordan in which three U.S. soldiers were killed, President Joe Biden spoke with families of all three, according to sources including John Kirby of the National Security Council. Kirby discussed the developments with journalists during a press conference onboard Air Force One.
Kirby also indicated that the president would be in attendance at the forthcoming dignified transfer, a process in which the fallen soldiers’ remains are returned to the U.S.
“The President had an opportunity this morning to speak with the family members of the three service members who were tragically killed in this attack,” Kirby said. “He was grateful for their time. He expressed to them how proud we all are of their service, how we mourn and feel this — feel sorrow over their loss, made sure that those families knew that not only was that service and sacrifice going to be honored and respected but that they would continue to get the support that they need as they work through what no family wants to have to go through.”
Donald Trump, the former president and continued front-runner for the GOP’s presidential nomination this year, also addressed the developments in the Middle East. He claimed — without particularly specific explanation — that consequentially damaging circumstances including the Jordan attack, violence against Israelis by the terror group Hamas, and the war in Ukraine launched by Russian forces would have all somehow been averted if he was still president.
Trump faced criticism for his own reactions to the death of soldiers while in office. And Mark Milley, a retired General in the U.S. Army who until late last year was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, alleged that Trump spoke disparagingly about a disabled veteran using a wheelchair who publicly sang at a military event. Perhaps the most infamous example of the trend is Trump’s public disparagement of John McCain, the late Senator from Arizona who was also once a prisoner of war. Trump at times maligned McCain’s service, questioning amid his initial campaign for president in 2016’s elections why McCain was considered a hero of any sort.
