Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio on Wednesday blasted Vice President Kamala Harris over the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, saying the Democratic presidential nominee should “go to hell.”
Vance’s comments at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, were his harshest toward Harris so far in the 2024 campaign. They came in response to a reporter’s question about an “incident” when former President Donald Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery with families of service members killed in a 2021 attack at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan on the final day of the withdrawal.
“Three years ago, 13 brave, innocent Americans died. They died because Kamala Harris refused to do her job, and not a single investigation was conducted, not a single firing was conducted,” Vance said. “Sometimes mistakes are made. That’s the nature of government, that’s the nature of military service. But for 13 Americans to lose their lives and not a single one to be fired is disgraceful. Kamala Harris is a disgrace.”
The Republican vice presidential candidate said that if the Abbygate story is discussed, “Kamala Harris was asleep at the wheel, she didn’t even investigate what happened, she just wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up. I hope she goes to hell.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Vance’s remarks, and the Harris campaign declined to comment.
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Asked about his comments, Vance told NBC News he was unhappy with them.
“I get frustrated and angry at times, and I think Kamala Harris’ failure of leadership with Abby Gate is something to be frustrated and angry about,” Vance said.
He also accused the Harris campaign of trying to “make a huge politicized issue” from the Arlington incident.
“The fact that Kamala Harris is trying to make an issue of it by refusing to attend rallies and even calling families whose children have died because of her leadership, I think it warrants a little bit of frustration, and I certainly saw that today,” Vance said.
In a statement on Monday, Governor Harris marked the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack and said she was “heartbroken” by the pain and loss experienced by the victims’ families.
“I fulfill my sacred duty to care for our service members and their families and will always honor their service and sacrifice,” she said, adding that “President Biden has made the courageous and right decision to end the longest war in American history.”
The United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, nearly two decades after invading the country under then-President George W. Bush.
The Biden administration and Congress have been conducting multiple investigations into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the attack at Abbey Gate, which occurred as service members were helping evacuate Afghanistan.
For example, in the 2023 report, the White House primarily blamed the Trump administration for the disorganized withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Earlier this year, the former U.S. commander who led the withdrawal testified at a congressional hearing that he was solely responsible for the 13 U.S. soldiers killed during the attack at Kabul airport.
Some soldiers’ families have expressed frustration that the Biden administration is not providing them all the answers they want.
At the same hearing this year, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Army Gen. Mark Milley, acknowledged he wanted more information.
Milley said getting those answers will take a “significant amount of time,” especially because many of the records are classified.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter last week to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan urging him to testify before the Republican-led committee about the withdrawal.
“He is accountable to Gold Star families, veterans and the American people for this disastrous withdrawal,” McCaul said in a post on X on Wednesday, calling Sullivan “one of the chief architects” of the administration’s Afghanistan policy.
Vance, a Marine Corps veteran, has directed much of his criticism on military issues at Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Waltz, the governor of Minnesota, who he has accused of lying about his military history.
In 2018, Mr Walz spoke about handling weapons “in war” despite never having deployed to a combat zone. Harris’ campaign said this month that Mr Walz’s comments were a “gaffe”.
Waltz served in the military for 24 years, including overseas tours and supporting frontline troops, and officially retired from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005.
