NBC’s Kristen Welker "incorrectly implied" that Vice President Kamala Harris was in attendance at the dignified transfer of U.S. troops killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., appeared on NBC’s "Meet the Press" Sunday and criticized President Biden and Harris for ignoring the families of the fallen soldiers.
"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris — where were they? Joe Biden was sitting at a beach. Kamala Harris was sitting at her mansion in Washington, D.C. She was four miles away — ten minutes. She could've gone to the cemetery and honored the sacrifice of those young men and women, but she hasn't. She never has spoken to them or taken a meeting with them," Cotton told Welker. "It is because of her and Joe Biden's incompetence that those 13 Americans were killed in Afghanistan."
"They did meet them during the dignified transfer. They were with them at the dignified transfer," Welker interjected.
NBC posted a correction on the show's X account after the show.
"On our broadcast this morning, we incorrectly implied that both President Biden and Vice President Harris attended the dignified transfer of 13 American service members killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal," NBC wrote on their "Meet the Press" X account.
"Biden was in attendance but Harris was not," the statement continued.
President Biden was at the event, photographed "repeatedly checking his watch" during the proceedings.
Former President Trump, who attended the Arlington National Cemetery at the request of Gold Star families, commemorated the third year anniversary of botched withdrawal from Afghanistan that left 13 U.S. service members killed.
"The Trump team is very, very respectful and cognizant. They wanted to be respectful to everyone there," Christy Shamblin, mother of fallen U.S. Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, one of the Fallen 13 from Afghanistan, told "The Sacramento Bee."
"The big news stories that the mainstream media covers about the [Fallen] 13 aren’t stories of honor and respect. It’s hard to understand why. There are always stories about some kind of conflict that didn’t happen... The Trump team worked diligently with us and with Arlington to make sure there weren’t any disruptions to services, or even to any school groups," Shamblin continued.
Gee’s mother also went on to tell "The Bee" that she was "confident" that a second term for the Trump Administration would be "better for veterans and their families."
The families of the 13 service-members have said they have yet to hear from Biden or Harris, despite having made attempts to reach out to the administration.
"At least Biden sent us a form letter," Shamblin added. "I think one of the most devastating parts of having the administration really just ignore this and not speak their names and speak to us, is that you start to feel like your loss is really in vain."
