Trump Honors Abbey Gate 13; Gold Star Dad Responds

Gold Star father Steve Nikoui said on Monday that it was a “miracle” to see a memorial ceremony finally take place at Arlington National Cemetery, honoring his son Kareem Nikoui and twelve others who were killed in the terror attack at Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021.

The thirteen were killed when a suicide bomber detonated a device near Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA), where thousands of Americans, allies, and desperate Afghans had flooded to escape the Taliban during the Biden-Harris administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

During Monday’s ceremony at Arlington, which neither President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris attended, former President Trump participated in a wreath-laying in their honor.

I joined President Trump to lay wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery in remembrance of the 13 heroes we lost at Abbey Gate.

We lost these heroes because of the ignorance and arrogance of politicians, like Kamala Harris & Joe Biden, who treat America’s warriors as disposable. pic.twitter.com/PoLEEgPaa2

— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) August 26, 2024

Nikoui said that Trump’s appearance was especially meaningful because he had been there for the families as they continue to seek answers for what went wrong during the botched withdrawal.

“The fact that it took place in and of itself was a miracle because that is the only time that any president —  or, or prior president or anybody high up in the executive branch — that’s ever paid any respects to our kids,” Nikkei told The Daily Wire’s John Bickley.

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“So by him going there, it means a lot, because he’s the first one that’s done it in the three years. And for it to be President Trump, that’s even bigger because he’s been an advocate for us and he’s been there for us since we started going to Washington and in June of last year,” he added. Everything that’s come out of Afghanistan is because of the Gold Star parents who press members of Congress. Darrell Issa, Chairman McCaul, letting them know what they didn’t know, what they didn’t hear in the public, what they wouldn’t hear from anyone else. And they would hear our stories, which are the truth, and they’d be like, ‘You are crazy, I can’t believe this.’ And that’s what led to all of these investigations. So, since August last year, President Trump, right after we spoke at Congress on the 29th, he invited us up to Bedminster and he said he solidified his commitment to helping us and we’ve been to several rallies. We’ve had a few roundtables talking about this, and he’s been our champion the whole way.”

Bickley pressed Nikoui on accusations from Democrats suggesting that Trump did not value or respect American veterans — and the Gold Star dad said that had not been his experience at all.

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“I’ve heard these things, but you know what, I take it with a grain of salt … none of that matters. Donald J. Trump was the only one … He was the only one that ever honored us and listened to us and let us talk about our kids individually with him, and promised, ‘I’m gonna be here for you when I get in the White House. We’re gonna honor him the right way, we’re gonna honor him at the White House,'” Nikoui explained.

“And it wasn’t something that he said. And now remember, last August, he was not a popular guy. This was literally like three days after he got arrested,” he continued. “They thought that all these court cases and this jail and the mugshot would do him in. But he was there for us, and he’s like, ‘Hey, when I get back in the White House, I’m going to honor your kids at the White House.’ He says, ‘Hey, you know, here, Bedminster is beautiful and I could take you to Mar-a-Lago, but this needs to be done in the White House.’ And that was awesome.”