President Biden made a dubious claim about his son’s death while speaking with the parents of a U.S. service member killed in an attack in Jordan.
Biden falsely stated that his son died in Iraq, while in reality, Beau Biden died from brain cancer. The death occurred years after serving overseas and there is no evidence that his service in Iraq caused brain cancer.
The president also mentioned his son in previous speeches, attributing his death to Iraq.
“Oh wow, that is the best news I’ve heard today, thank you so much,” mother Oneida Oliver-Sanders said. “You don’t know how much that means to us.”
“Oh, well, I tell you what, it means a lot to me,” Biden said. “My son spent a year in Iraq; that’s how I lost him.”
“I lost my son — we lost our son in Iraq,” Biden said.
“I say this as a father of a man who won the Bronze Star, the Conspicuous Service Medal, and lost his life in Iraq,” Biden said separately.
The call with the soldier’s parents has sparked criticism.
“Of course Biden called one of the three families who lost their child in the Iran-backed drone attack annnnd he made it all about Beau, claiming he’s been in their exact same position,” editor Curtis Houck wrote on X. “The nerve of this guy….”
The White House has been briefed about the attack, marking a significant escalation in the region, with Biden promising to hold those responsible to account without seeking further conflict in the Middle East.
