Kristen Welker, the host of NBC’s Meet the Press has made a false claim regarding Vice-President Kamala Harris’ presence at the dignified transfer of 13 U.S. service members who lost their lives in the 2021 Kabul airport.
The event was attended by then-President Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris was clearly not in attendance, contrary to Welker’s claim.
This sparked criticism against the news station that was forced to issue an official apology regarding the incident.
“On our broadcast this morning, we incorrectly implied that both President Biden and Vice President Harris attended the dignified transfer of 13 American service members killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal. Biden was in attendance but Harris was not,” NBC said in a statement.
During the Meet the Press edition in question, Welker spoke to Republican Senator Tim Cotton, who criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for showing disrespect to the families of the 13 soldiers.
The two were invited to commemorate the third anniversary of botched withdrawal from Afghanistan that left the 13 U.S. service members killed. However, they failed to attend the event.
On the other hand, Donald Trump did attend it, which forced Biden and Harris’s administration to accuse him of using the event for political purposes.
Cotton explained that the Gold Star families wanted Donald Trump there.
“They wanted to take those photos. You know who the families also invited? Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” Cotton said, adding: “where were they?”
“Joe Biden was sitting at a beach. Kamala Harris was sitting at her mansion in Washington, DC. She was four miles away — ten minutes. She could’ve gone to the cemetery and honored the sacrifice of those young men and women, but she hasn’t. [Kamala Harris] never has spoken to them or taken a meeting with them,” Cotton told Welker.
He added: “It is because of her and Joe Biden’s incompetence that those 13 Americans were killed in Afghanistan.”
It was then that Kristen Welker made the comment that caused a stir and triggered backlash.
“They did meet them during the dignified transfer. They were with them at the dignified transfer,” she said as per Fox News.
As expected, people were angry at the false claim Kristen Welker made.
“She didn’t ‘imply’ it, she outright said it. She lied to protect Kamala. Sha
me on you,” the X account Libs of TikTok commented.
“This is precisely why people have such little trust in the media these days,” commented one user. “They struggle to get even the simplest facts right when it comes to defending their preferred politicians.”
Another added: “The fact-checking team at NBC really dropped the ball.”
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