Biden needs to be very clear when he talks about this highly sensitive subject.
During a recent conversation with the parents of Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders, who tragically lost her life in an Iran-backed drone strike near the border of Syria, President Biden made a statement about the death of his son, Beau Biden, that has raised eyebrows.
In the call with Shawn Sanders and Oneida Oliver-Sanders, Biden mentioned that their daughter would be posthumously promoted to sergeant. The parents expressed gratitude for this news, visibly moved. In response, Biden stated, “My son spent a year in Iraq; that’s how I lost him.” However, this statement is factually incorrect.
Beau Biden, the president’s son, passed away in May 2015 due to glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. He served a tour in Iraq from 2008 to 2009. Despite this, President Biden has repeatedly made claims about his son’s death being linked to Iraq, even suggesting a connection to exposure to burn pits. This narrative has been inconsistent with the established cause of Beau Biden’s death.
The recent call with the grieving parents of a fallen service member adds to the instances where President Biden has made this false claim about his son. Critics, such as Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters, have questioned the president’s decision to invoke Beau’s name in the context of another family’s loss.
Specialist Sanders was one of three U.S. service members killed in a drone strike in January 2024 near the border of Syria. The attack marked a significant escalation, being the first time American soldiers were killed by opposition gun fire in the Middle East since the Israel conflict in October. President Biden, while vowing accountability for those responsible, emphasized that the U.S. was not seeking to engage in another conflict in the Middle East.