Biden Once Again Suggests His Son Beau Died in Iraq War as He Consoles Grieving Family

Washington DC – US President Joe Biden stirred headlines after he suggested once again that his son Beau Biden died in the Iraq war. The President brought up the death of his son while trying to console the grieving family of the US soldier who was killed in a drone strike in Jordan. The 81-year-old American commander-in-chief brought up his own family's tragedy while speaking to Shawn Sanders and Oneida Oliver-Sanders, which was recorded and published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

During the telephonic conversation which was held on Tuesday, the US President said that Biden and 24-year-old Army Spc. Kennedy Sanders would be promoted to Sergeant posthumously. “Oh wow, that is the best news I’ve heard today, thank you so much,” Oliver Sanders exclaimed as both the parents started to cry. Biden went on to mention that his son spent some time in Iraq however, his recollection of his son's time on the battlefield was factually incorrect. “My son spent a year in Iraq; that’s how I lost him," the US President told the grieving parents in the phone call. It is important to note that the President's son Beau Biden died of brain cancer in May 2015 at the age of 46. Beau passed away six years after he returned from Iraq. The political scion was deployed in the Middle Eastern nation for six months. 

White House defends Biden 

Shortly after the telephone conversation became public, Andrew Bates, the White House deputy press secretary told The New York Post that Biden was expressing empathy towards the grieving family. “The President was expressing respect and empathy for a family in terrible pain after a loved one made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,” Bates remarked. This is not the first time Biden has faced criticism for likening his son’s death to the stories of American soldiers dying abroad. In August last year, Cheryl Rex, the mother of Marine Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola, who died on August 26, 2021, recalled her interaction with Biden. “His words to me were, ‘My wife, Jill, and I know how you feel. We lost our son as well and brought him home in a flag-draped coffin,’” Rex recounted at a forum convened by Representative Darrell Issa. “My heart started beating faster and I started shaking, knowing that their son died from cancer and they were able to be by his side," she added. Meanwhile, the US President is scheduled to attend the dignified transfer of all three soldiers’ remains at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Friday.