Joe Biden forgot the death of 13 US soldiers in a suicide attack in Afghanistan when he claimed that no troops were killed during his term.
The president faced off against his predecessor Donald Trump in the first of two debates on topics ranging from the economy to immigration and foreign affairs.
CNN moderators asked Biden the first question about what he would say to voters who feel they did better under Trump.
After some exchanges between the two men, Biden brought up Trump’s frequent claims that his presidency was good for the US military.
Joe Biden forgot the death of 13 US soldiers in a suicide attack in Afghanistan when he claimed during his debate with Donald Trump that no troops died during his term
ISIS-K carried out a double bomb attack at Kabul airport as Westerners and thousands of Afghan civilians fled the Taliban takeover.
“The idea that he did something significant for the military, when he was president they were still killing people in Afghanistan, he didn’t do anything about it,” he said.
‘When I was president we were still in a position where we had the notion that we were a safe country.
“The truth is that I am the only president of this century who has not, in this decade, had troops dying anywhere in the world, as he did.”
Biden changed his answer to say decade instead of century, since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan did not begin until 2001, even though that was the first year of this century.
But either way, Biden was wrong to claim that no American soldiers died during his presidency, as 13 died during the evacuation from Afghanistan.
ISIS-K carried out a double bomb attack at Kabul airport as Westerners and thousands of Afghan civilians fled the Taliban takeover.
The 13 soldiers included 11 Marines and a Navy medic who died along with 90 Afghans in the bombing on August 26, 2021.
The 13 soldiers included 11 Marines and a Navy medic who died along with 90 Afghans in the bombing on August 26, 2021.
Smoke rises over Kabul after explosion that killed 13 US soldiers and 90 Afghans
The first terrorist at the airport’s Abbey Gate was wearing a vest and was being searched by troops when he detonated. The second was a car bomb attack at the Baron Hotel.
Biden himself addressed the nation after the attack and promised to pursue those responsible.
“These American service members who gave their lives (it’s an overused word, but entirely appropriate) were heroes,” he said at the time.
‘Heroes who have been involved in a dangerous and selfless mission to save the lives of others.
Medical staff transport an injured man to a hospital in an ambulance after two powerful explosions, which killed at least six people, outside Kabul airport on August 26, 2021.
‘They were part of an airlift, an evacuation effort like no other seen in history… They were part of the bravest, most capable, most selfless army on the face of the Earth.
“And they were part of what I call, simply, the ‘backbone of America.’ They are the backbone of America, the best the country has to offer.”
‘To those who carried out this attack, as well as all those who wish to harm the United States, know this: we will not forgive. We will not forget.
“We will hunt you down and make you pay. I will defend our interests and our people with all the measures at my disposal.”