Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) told a blatant lie about President Joe Biden and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, but she was quickly corrected and fact-checked by CNN host Jake Tapper.
Ernst was discussing the end of the American mission in Afghanistan, which has gone on for 20 years, and she told Tapper:
“As I visit with other veterans, as I have talked to those Gold Star spouses, those Gold Star families, many feel that they have been left behind. And what I have not heard from this president is a thank you to those veterans who have served in the global war on terror. Not once has he expressed empathy and gratitude to the men and women who have put the uniform on and have fought so bravely overseas the last 20 years to keep our homeland safe.”
That led Tapper to remark:
“I have heard President Biden express gratitude and praise veterans. It may be that he hasn’t done it enough for people. And, in fact, you know, we don’t have a monument for the veterans and the KIA and the WIA from the global war on terror. and maybe we need to have that … but, just as a factual matter, I have heard him talk about this.”
The senator then began walking back her comments:
“I have heard him say, Jake, that he is grateful for those at the Kabul Airport. But he hasn’t acknowledged — as far as I know, and you might be right, but I listen very carefully — he always acknowledges those that are doing service or had done service at the Kabul Airport during the evacuation, but not over the greater global war on terror.”
In other words, because the president didn’t say it just the way Ernst wanted him to, it doesn’t count.
It’s clear that most Republicans wanted the U.S. to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely. But the war is over with and it’s time we bring our troops home.
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