Biden Spokesman Accidentally Lets Reporter Know What He Really Thinks About Vets Angry at Afghanistan Debacle

White House spokesman John Kirby told staffers via email on Wednesday that there was “no use” in responding to veterans’ concerns about the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal — but he mistakenly also sent the message to Fox News.

The White House has faced years of criticism for the 2021 withdrawal, which was widely seen as a disastrous operation and a failure of leadership in Washington. Amid the third anniversary of the withdrawal, Kirby wrote in an email to staffers on Wednesday that it was a waste of time to chime in on veterans’ opinions about the withdrawal and accidentally included Fox News on the chain after the outlet had sent an initial media inquiry.

“Obviously no use in responding. A ‘handful’ of vets indeed and all of one stripe,” Kirby wrote in a reply-all email chain with White House staffers and Fox News.

When pressed by Fox News why he sent the email, Kirby told the outlet he “didn’t realize you were on the chain.” The email thread was started when Fox reached out to the White House about criticism for the 2021 withdrawal, which included four quotes from veterans criticizing the operation. Kirby’s reply came while he was traveling with President Joe Biden during a visit to New York on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The Afghanistan withdrawal was initially planned by the former Trump administration in 2020, but executed by the Biden administration in a disordered and abrupt fashion. A lack of planning and leadership — and an incorrect prediction that the Taliban wouldn’t seize the country so quickly — created a chaotic situation for U.S. military forces on the ground and led to the deaths of 13 servicemembers. (Read more from “Biden Spokesman Accidentally Lets Reporter Know What He Really Thinks About Vets Angry at Afghanistan Debacle” HERE)