A group of family members of some of the 13 American soldiers who died in a bomb attack outside the Kabul airport during the withdrawal from Afghanistan have blamed President Joe Biden for the situation.

They raised their criticism at the Republican National Convention.

The families criticized Biden for not publicly saying the names of the 13 American soldiers.

“Joe Biden said the withdrawal from Afghanistan was an extraordinary success,” said Cheryl Juels, the aunt of Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee. “Look at our faces. Look at our pain and our heartbreak. And look at our rage. That was not an extraordinary success.” 

Herman Lopez, the father of Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, also blasted Biden for his comment at last month’s debate that there hadn’t been “any troops dying anywhere in the world” during his administration.

“That hurt us all deeply,” Lopez said before he recited the names of the 13 service members who died in the attack.

“Now we have another son serving in the Army, and we do not trust Joe Biden with his life. We have faith in Donald Trump to lead our military,” Alician Lopez, Hunter Lopez’s mother, added.

US House representative, Mike Waltz, talked in his convention speech about Trump’s spending hours with the families of service members who were killed as the US withdrew from Afghanistan.

“Two of them came up to me afterwards and said this was the best thing that had happened to them since they had lost their sons,” Waltz recalled. “That night with President Trump.”

“Mr. President, you helped them heal,” he continued. “And I will forever, and they will be forever, and America will forever be grateful to you for that.”

In his convention speech, US House Representative Brian Mast criticized Biden for saying at the presidential debate last month that no US service members have died on his watch.

“Joe Biden doesn’t even remember that it cost the lives of 13 American heroes,” Mast said.

Mast, an Afghanistan war veteran who lost his legs and a finger in combat, said Biden has “disgraced their sacrifice.” He said neither Biden nor Harris deserves “to be saluted as commander in chief or to sit in the Oval Office.”

Meanwhile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich claimed that Trump wanted to keep Bagram Air Base when US troops were being withdrawn from Afghanistan. Some US media outlets, however, said that it is a false claim as Trump had negotiated an agreement with the Islamic Emirate in 2020 that called for the withdrawal of US troops from all bases.

Related stories:

Biden ‘ignored advice’ on US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan: Khalilzad

Trump: Afghanistan withdrawal ‘most embarrassing moment in history’