FACT CHECK: Joe Biden Falsely Claims Zero Troops Died Abroad During His Presidency
President Joe Biden said during the June 27 presidential debate that zero troops died abroad during his presidency.
“I’m the only president this century that doesn’t have any, this decade that not any troops dying anywhere in the world, like he did” – Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/y2pNWVYbzZ
— BAY AREA STATE OF MIND (@YayAreaNews) June 28, 2024
Verdict: False
13 U.S. service members died during the August 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. Three soldiers died in a drone strike on a U.S. base in Jordan in January 2024.
Fact Check:
Biden claimed during the June 27 presidential debate that he’s “the only president this century that doesn’t have any this — this decade, any troops dying anywhere in the world…”
“And the military, you know, when he was president, they were still killing people in Afghanistan. And he didn’t do anything about that. When he was president, we were still finding ourselves in a position where you had a notion that we were this safe country, the truth is, I’m the only president this century that doesn’t have any this — this decade, any troops dying anywhere in the world, like he did,” Biden said.
Biden’s claim is false. The Defense Casualty Analysis System, which does not have data for 2023 or 2024, found that 13 U.S. troops were killed in hostile action in 2021 and zero in 2022. 65 U.S. troops died due to hostile action from 2017-2020, which was during Trump’s presidency.
13 U.S. service members died during the Afghanistan withdrawal when an ISIS-K suicide bomber detonated a bomb at the Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate, according to the Defense Department. 170 Afghan civilians were also killed in the bombing attack. (RELATED: Fact-Checking Biden’s Claim About Wage Increases Versus Inflation)
The names of the service members killed are Staff Sergeant Darin T. Hoover, Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, according to the Department of Defense.
Biden attended the dignified transfer of their remains at Dover Air Force Base on Aug. 29, 2021, according to CNN. During his time at the base, Biden checked his watch at least three times, USA Today reported.
TOPSHOT – US President Joe Biden looks down alongside First Lady Jill Biden as they attend the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen service member at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, August, 29, 2021, one of the 13 members of the US military killed in Afghanistan last week. – President Joe Biden prepared Sunday at a US military base to receive the remains of the 13 American service members killed in an attack in Kabul, a solemn ritual that comes amid fierce criticism of his handling of the Afghanistan crisis. Biden and his wife, Jill, both wearing black and with black face masks, first met far from the cameras with relatives of the dead in a special family center at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.The base, on the US East Coast about two hours from Washington, is synonymous with the painful return of service members who have fallen in combat. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Three U.S. soldiers died when a drone, suspected to be used by Kaitab Hezbollah, hit an American base in Jordan in January 2024, according to CNN. Their names were Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, according to the Defense Department.
Biden also attended the dignified transfer of their remains at Dover Air Force Base on February 2, 2024, according to NBC News. He did not make any public remarks, but did say at the National Prayer Breakfast that “we’ll never forget the sacrifice and service to our country…”
“They risked it all, and we’ll never forget the sacrifice and service to our country that the dozens of service members who were wounded in recovery now,” Biden said.
DOVER, DELAWARE – FEBRUARY 02: U.S. President Joe Biden places his hand over his heart as a U.S. Army carry team moves a flagged draped transfer case containing the remains of Army Sgt. Breonna Moffett during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on February 02, 2024 in Dover, Delaware. U.S. Army Sgt. William Rivers, Sgt. Breonna Moffett, Sgt. Kennedy Sanders were killed in addition to 40 other troops were injured during a drone strike in Jordan. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
CNN Pentagon reporter Haley Britzky also pointed out that several U.S. troops have died in training accidents abroad, including 8 U.S. airmen who died when their V-22 Osprey crashed off the Japanese coast.
Not to mention, the US service members who have died in training accidents abroad. Just in November, 5 US soldiers died in the Eastern Med; 8 US airmen died in an Osprey accident off the coast of Japan.
— Haley Britzky (@halbritz) June 28, 2024
“Not to mention, the US service members who have died in training accidents abroad. Just in November, 5 US soldiers died in the Eastern Med; 8 US airmen died in an Osprey accident off the coast of Japan,” Britzky tweeted. (RELATED: Image Claiming To Show Trump Statement Saying He’ll ‘Save’ Hunter Is Fake)
Furthermore, two U.S. Navy Seals died during a raid on a small ship carrying weapons for the Houthi rebels in Yemen in January 2024, according to The New York Times. They died when one fell into the ocean and the other jumped into the ocean in an attempted rescue, the outlet reported, citing defense officials.
The Biden campaign did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
