{"id":2309898,"date":"2024-07-26T20:16:57","date_gmt":"2024-07-27T00:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2309898"},"modified":"2024-07-26T20:18:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-27T00:18:24","slug":"jen-psaki-offers-apology-to-afghanistan-gold-star-families-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jen-psaki-offers-apology-to-afghanistan-gold-star-families-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Jen Psaki offers apology to Afghanistan Gold Star families &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjen-psaki-offers-apology-to-afghanistan-gold-star-families-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2309898&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki offered \u200ban\u2063 apology to the families of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/finally-interpreter-who-helped-biden-escape-afghanistan-reaches-u-s-5-months-after-military-departure\/\" title=\"Finally: Interpreter Who Helped Biden Escape Afghanistan Reaches U.S. 5 Months After Military Departure\">13 military service members<\/a> who lost their lives during \u200bthe U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The\u200b apology came during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-inspector-general-seeking-testimony-of-former-fbi-agent-steve-friend-contradicting-democrat-claims\/\" title=\"DOJ Inspector General Seeking Testimony of Former FBI Agent Steve Friend, Contradicting Democrat Claims\">congressional interview<\/a> led by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, who inquired about Psaki&#8217;s previous \u2063comments\u200d in her book, *Say \u2064More*, regarding President Biden&#8217;s demeanor during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/these-six-comics-could-be-canceled-next\/\" title=\"These Six Comics Could Be Canceled Next\">ceremony honoring<\/a>\u2063 the fallen soldiers. Psaki\u200c asserted that Biden had\u2064 not looked at his watch during the event, a claim that has been \u2063challenged by photographs taken that day. After McCaul pressed her for any message for the Gold Star families, Psaki expressed regret for any pain caused \u200cand requested that he convey her apologies. This\u200c incident has been leveraged \u2062by critics, including Republicans\u2062 and former President Donald Trump, to portray Biden as lacking empathy. The\u200b fathers of \u200csome soldiers have openly criticized Biden for repeatedly checking his watch \u200dduring the ceremony, raising the emotions surrounding this issue further. Rep. Mike Waltz \u2062commented\u2064 on Psaki\u2019s apology following the interview.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Jen Psaki apologizes to Afghanistan Gold Star families in congressional interview<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1714758\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former White House <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-whitmer-media-caught-in-another-lie-anarchist-arrested-for-plot-to-kidnap-and-kill-whitmer-hates-president-trump-trump-is-a-tyrant-video\/\" title=\"Gov. Whitmer, Media Caught in Another Lie - Anarchist Arrested For Plot to Kidnap and Kill Whitmer Hates President Trump, &#039;Trump is a Tyrant&#039; (VIDEO)\">press<\/a> secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jen-psaki\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Jen Psaki<\/a> extended an apology to the families of the 13 Gold Star military service members who died in the U.S. withdrawal from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Afghanistan<\/a> in 2021 on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>During a transcribed interview, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/foreign-affairs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Foreign Affairs<\/a> Committee Chairman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michael-mccaul\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Michael McCaul<\/a> (R-TX) asked Psaki about her comments that she wrote in her book, <em>Say More<\/em>, that stated President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> never looked at his watch during a ceremony in late August 2021 honoring soldiers killed in Afghanistan returning home. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The chairman asked Ms. Psaki about her comments regarding President Biden looking at his watch while at Dover [Air Force Base] and asked her if she had anything she wanted to say to the families on the record,&rdquo; Leslie Shedd, Foreign Affairs Committee majority spokeswoman, said in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em> &ldquo;After pressing her multiple times if she had something she wanted to say to them, Ms. Psaki asked the chairman to pass along her apology to the families and to express her regret for the pain she caused them. He has done that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Biden&rsquo;s demeanor during the return of the service members killed in Afghanistan has been used by Republicans and former President Donald Trump as evidence to claim that Biden is an unempathetic leader. Psaki&rsquo;s statement that the incident of checking his watch never occurred contrasted with several photographs taken of the day by news agencies, including the <em>Associated Press.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, behind Biden, and others attend a casualty return as a carry team finishes placing a transfer case containing the remains of Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska, into a transfer vehicle Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. (AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mark Schmitz, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/T8BoLhZ7cfE?si=W_3hYxsPJFD9Xq2u&amp;t=7298\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> Congress in August 2023&nbsp;that &ldquo;while I stood there on the tarmac watching you check your watch over and over again, all I wanted to do was shout out, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s 2 f***ing 30, a**hole.&#8217;&rdquo; The day after the ceremony, Shana Chappell, the mother of Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, wrote, &ldquo;I watched you disrespect us all 5 different times by checking your watch!!! What the f*** was so important that you had to keep looking at your watch????&rdquo; in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/socal.angel.3\/posts\/3040817939483743\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>post<\/a> on Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), the first U.S. Army Green Beret to be elected to Congress, spoke to Psaki&rsquo;s apology in a post to X on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Just left the House Foreign Affairs interview with Jen Psaki,&rdquo; Waltz said. &ldquo;She agreed to apologize to the 13 Afghanistan Gold Star families whom she falsely contradicted in her book when she said Biden didn&rsquo;t look at his watch.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just left the House Foreign Affairs interview with Jen Psaki.<\/p>\n<p>She agreed to apologize to the 13 Afghanistan Gold Star families whom she falsely contradicted in her book when she said Biden didn&rsquo;t look at his watch. <\/p>\n<p>This isn&rsquo;t a partisan or gotcha moment. This is the right&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/michaelgwaltz\/status\/1816929138793410943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t a partisan or gotcha moment,&rdquo; Waltz continued. &ldquo;This is the right thing to do as fellow Americans and I pray she follows through.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Psaki&rsquo;s transcribed interview began at 11 a.m. on Friday and is expected to go on for a few more hours as of 5:30 p.m., per a source familiar.<\/p>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1714758\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1714758\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary, issued an apology to the families of the 13 Gold Star service members who lost their lives during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. This occurred during a transcribed interview on Friday, where Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) questioned her about statements she made in her book, &#8220;Say More.&#8221; In the book, she claimed that President Joe Biden did not check his watch during a ceremony in late August 2021 that honored the fallen soldiers. <\/p>\n<p>According to Leslie Shedd, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Affairs Committee, McCaul pressed Psaki for a message to the families, and she requested that he convey her apology and regret for the pain her comments caused. This incident has been used by Republicans and former President Donald Trump to portray Biden as lacking empathy. Psaki&#8217;s assertion that Biden did not check his watch contradicted multiple photographs from that day, which showed otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Schmitz, father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, expressed his frustration to Congress in August 2023, stating he wanted to shout at Biden for repeatedly checking his watch during the ceremony. Similarly, Shana Chappell, mother of Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, criticized Biden on Facebook for what she perceived as disrespectful behavior. <\/p>\n<p>Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), the first U.S. Army Green Beret elected to Congress, commented on Psaki&#8217;s apology in a post on X, emphasizing that it was not a partisan issue but the right thing to do as fellow Americans. Psaki&#8217;s interview began at 11 a.m. on Friday and was expected to continue for several hours<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2648,"featured_media":2309902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Jen-Psaki.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[7228,33526,33606],"class_list":["post-2309898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-afghanistan","tag-gold-star-families","tag-jen-psaki"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Jen-Psaki.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2309898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2648"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2309898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2309898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2309902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2309898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2309898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2309898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}