Joe Biden went to Dover Air Force Base earlier today, as we reported, to receive the bodies of the 13 members of the military killed in the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport.
Although the event was closed to media, they allowed a video of the “dignified” transfer ceremony.
Today, 11 of the 13 were received at the base. The thirteen who were killed on Thursday were Navy corpsman Max Soviak, Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss, and Marines Hunter Lopez, Rylee McCollum, David Lee Espinoza, Kareem Nikoui, Jared Schmitz, Daegan Page, Darin Taylor Hoover, Humberto Sanchez, Johanny Rosariopichardo, Dylan Merola and Nicole Gee. Most of them were between 20-23 years old.
During the ceremony, Joe Biden was seen checking his watch. You make the call. It sure looks like it to my eyes. This is an awful look.
Watch The Video:
It's true. Joe Biden checked his watch during the dignified transfer of the servicemembers killing in Afghanistan at the airport. You can see him jerk his left hand to pull the watch out from under his sleeve, then look down at it. pic.twitter.com/M3QVzJbTIm
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) August 29, 2021
He does that extra jerk with his arm to ensure the watch is visible from underneath the jacket. It adds weight to the situation and makes me believe he has done it before.
He had to stand there respectfully and that was all he had to do. Now he is questioning this. Is it possible that he was unable to stand still for even a moment? I don’t know what he was thinking if anything, but these aren’t the optics you want to send out at such an important and solemn ceremony.
Did he care about his nap or calling a lid No matter what it was, he knew that showing respect for our military dead was an important part of his job.
We reported that some families weren’t keen to meet with him as we mentioned earlier.
Heard from a reliable source some of the families of the service members who were killed in Kabul do not want Biden to be at Dover AFB for the dignified transfers.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 29, 2021
Some of them have already vented in media at this, as we reported yesterday, blaming him in part for the death of their loved ones and letting him have it. Although we have not heard from them regarding their interactions with Biden, it is likely that they will. This is a poor sign given the entire debacle that he has created in Afghanistan.
There is nothing more important than paying your respects to America's fallen war heroes, Mr. President. https://t.co/OxrAfHG7Cq
— Nile Gardiner (@NileGardiner) August 29, 2021