Joe and Jill Biden arrive at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, September 2, 2021, screen image.
(Update at end) It’s been nearly twenty-four hours since Joe Biden paid an unannounced visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, yet there are no reports or photos of Biden’s visit inside the hospital. The White House statement on the visit last night played coy on who Biden and wife Dr. Jill were there to visit, leaving it open whether or not Biden visited the 15 service members wounded in last week’s Kabul airport terrorist attack who are recuperating at Walter Reed. The White House statement simply said, “Tonight, the President and First Lady are visiting wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.” 13 service members were killed and 18 wounded in the attack. 170 Afghans were reported killed.
Joe Biden and Jill Biden at Walter Reed this evening. Per White House, “Tonight, the President and First Lady are visiting wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.”
— Sebastian Smith (@SebastianAFP) September 3, 2021
That statement led many news outlets and sites, including TGP, to report Biden visited the fifteen Kabul wounded who arrived at Walter Reed from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany over the course of the past few days. (Via CNN: “Of the 15 Marines being treated at Walter Reed, “one is in critical condition, three are in serious condition and 11 are in stable condition,” Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Jim Stenger said.”)
President Biden and @FLOTUS arrive Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to visit wounded warriors pic.twitter.com/0oujYRwS39
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 3, 2021
President Biden and @FLOTUS depart Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after visiting wounded warriors Thursday night pic.twitter.com/HqkmHrhwCT
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 3, 2021
However, repeated searches show no reports by family members of visits, no photos and no mentions of Biden awarding Purple Hearts to the wounded. There are numerous reports and photos of Biden’s immediate predecessors in office (Trump, Obama and Bush) awarding the Purple Heart at Walter Reed. But none of Biden from last night.
The Daily Mail reported the White House would not say if Biden saw any Kabul wounded, “…photographers were able to capture staff unloading flowers and gift baskets as the president and first lady arrived. The first couple stayed for an hour and 48 minutes. White House officials wouldn’t confirm whether the Bidens visited servicemembers wounded in the ISIS-K attack in Kabul, Afghanistan last Thursday. ”
The Trump administration posted video that night in December 2017 when President Trump awarded a Purple Heart at Walter Reed. (White House photos and videos of the wounded at Walter Reed need their permission (or the family) to be released.)
Today, @POTUS @realDonaldTrump presented the Purple Heart to an American Hero, at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. pic.twitter.com/xvSg35Xs70
— Dan Scavino Jr. Archived (@Scavino45) December 21, 2017
Given how poorly Biden’s visit with Gold Star families went last weekend at Dover Air Force Base, with many families reporting Biden kept glancing at his watch and spent more time talking about his late son Beau than about those killed in Kabul, it’s possible (but highly unlikely) that Biden opted to not even try to visit the Kabul wounded. It would be more likely the wounded and their families did not want to see him.
Obama spent 2 1/2 hrs at Walter Reed meeting with 29 military personnel wounded in Afghanistan & Iraq. He bestowed 11 Purple Heart medals.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) August 30, 2010
At Walter Reed, Pres Obama visited 11 service members: 6 Soldiers, 3 Marines and 2 Sailors. Bestowed 2 Purple Heart medals as well.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 17, 2014
President George W. Bush speaks to U.S. Army Corporal James Rednour, of Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, after presenting him with The Purple Heart for injuries Cpl. Rednour sustained while serving in Iraq. President Bush visited troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Thursday, December 18, 2003. Cpl. Rednour’s parents, Chuck and Cindy look on.
White House Photo by Eric Draper
Excerpt of a report by Pennsylvania paper the Titusville Herald by a family about President Trump’s visit to Walter Reed in February 2019:
According to Gotchy, the meet and greet was not political in any way. There was no press at the meeting, and the only pictures taken were by a White House photographer who provided images as keepsakes for the family.
“President Trump was very kind and compassionate,” Gotchy said. “There was nothing political about it. He was very kind, concerned and very respectful and you could tell his sole purpose was to make sure [Luke’s uncle] Clint was okay and his family was supported throughout the process.”
The visit became even more special when the president learned that Clint had not yet received his Purple Heart. Casey reached out to the staff at the office with the request that the president be the one who pinned the medal awarded to soldiers wounded in the line of duty on Clint’s shirt. President Trump saved Clint’s visit for last and held an award ceremony with the family present.
As of publication time, no mentions of Biden visiting the Kabul wounded can be found. This article will be updated if any are reported.
The post Was Biden Snubbed by Troops at Walter Reed? No Reports of Purple Hearts Awarded, No Photos of Meetings with Kabul Terror Attack Wounded (UPDATE) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.