Former President Donald Trump has made several phone calls to the families of the 13 American service members killed in an attack outside the airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“It was just very cordial, very understanding. He was awesome,” Darin Hoover, who lost his 31-year-old son, told the Washington Post. “He was just talking about the finest of the finest. He said he heard and saw everything that we had said, and he offered his condolences several times, and how sorry he was.”
The Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for the suicide attack outside the Kabul airport.
Hoover and several other families declined to meet with President Joe Biden. At least six of the 13 families have publicly criticized him for the chaotic withdrawal and blame him for their loved ones’ deaths.
The former Republican president, who has hinted to a 2024 run for the White House, is seizing the political opportunity to advance his optics while critics slam Biden’s handling of the withdrawal. Ironically, Trump negotiated the troops’ pull-out date with the Taliban when he was still in office.
According to sources who briefed the Post, Trump told at least one family member that Biden should not have pulled soldiers out of Afghanistan without ensuring all civilians evacuated safely. And he suggested he might pay respects in person at soldiers’ funerals.
Intelligence officials have briefed the former commander-in-chief about what they view as missteps in the Afghanistan exit plan. Seizing on the opportunity, Trump’s team has touted raising millions of dollars, encouraging donors to give more now. “Just look at what’s happening in Afghanistan,” exclaimed one donation request.
“It is really the only topic I’ve seen him animated about other than the election,” a Trump adviser told the newspaper.
“It’s almost certain he runs. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted. “I think Afghanistan has a lot to do with it. Before Afghanistan, I would have said the chance of him announcing before the midterm was almost zero. Now I’m not so sure.”
“He wants to get back into the game now quicker,” Graham added. “He sees things deteriorating, and it is changing his thinking.”
Trump is not known for his empathy. He's been sharply criticized for past disparaging remarks about fallen soldiers. For example, Trump trivialized Sen. John McCain’s war record, saying he wasn’t a hero because he was captured. Gold Star families have also condemned the former president’s lack of empathy.
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