Gold Star Dad Blames Harris for Abbey Gate Attack

On the three-year anniversary of the deadly Abbey Gate bombing, Gold Star father Mark Schmitz holds Vice President Kamala Harris accountable for her role in the Biden administration's Afghanistan withdrawal.

Gold Star father Mark Schmitz, whose son Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz lost his life in the Abbey Gate attack in 2021, has vehemently criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for her involvement in the Biden administration's Afghanistan withdrawal.

On Monday, the third anniversary of the attack, Schmitz joined Fox News' "Fox & Friends" to express his outrage. "She owns this just as much as Biden does," Schmitz said.

Gold Star Dad Blames Harris for Abbey Gate Attack

Roughly four months before the attack, Harris confirmed in a CNN interview that she was the last person to speak with President Biden before he made the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

"And you feel comfortable?" CNN anchor Dana Bash asked Harris at the time.

Gold Star Dad Blames Harris for Abbey Gate Attack

"I do," Harris said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson highlighted Harris's comments on social media, stating that she was "proud to be the last person in the room for the decision that left 13 US service members dead and many more injured in Kabul three years ago today."

Gold Star Dad Blames Harris for Abbey Gate Attack

Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Dave McCormick echoed Johnson's sentiment, writing, "Kamala Harris bragged about her role on-camera" before posting the interview clip.

Republican National Committee account RNC Research also shared the footage, and radio host Tom Shattuck questioned why Harris has not given an interview or held a press conference to address her role in the withdrawal.

"The Democrats will try and memory hole you into thinking Kamala is not an incumbent, yet she was there and making decisions in the Biden Administration," one Trump supporter responded to the RNC's post.

Another supporter added, "She was so proud of herself."

Florida Representative Matt Gaetz criticized Harris for her lack of accountability. "Three years after Harris said she had no regrets over the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, there is still no accountability," Gaetz tweeted.

Former President Donald Trump has also pointed to Harris's statements. "She bragged that she would be the last person in the room, and she was," Trump said in a North Carolina rally last week. "She was the last person in the room with Biden when the two of them decided to pull the troops out of Afghanistan."

Relatives of the slain service members appeared at the Republican National Convention last month, expressing their disappointment that Biden had not publicly named their loved ones.

Other critics have also condemned Harris for her role in the withdrawal. Gold Star father Darin Hoover, whose son Taylor Hoover was killed in the attack, said, "Kamala Harris was a part of this decision."

As the third anniversary of the attack draws attention to the Biden administration's handling of the withdrawal, Mark Schmitz and other Gold Star families are seeking accountability for their loved ones' deaths. Harris's role in the decision-making process continues to draw fire and scrutiny.