OAN’s Brooke Mallory
2:48 PM – Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Following her statement on Monday that the three U.S. soldiers killed in a drone attack in Jordan over the weekend had died “fighting on behalf of the administration” rather than for the United States, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre incited mockery from congressional members and social media users.
The three soldiers killed were Sgt. William Jerome Rivers of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett of Savannah, Georgia.
“Our deepest, obviously our deepest condolences go out, and our heartfelt condolences go out to the families who lost, uh… three, three brave, uh… three brave, uh… three brave, three folks who are military folks, who are brave, who are always fighting, who are fighting on behalf of, uh, this administration, of the American people, obviously more so, more importantly,” said Jean-Pierre told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” struggling to form a coherent sentence.
In the early hours of Sunday, Tower 22, a U.S. outpost near Jordan’s border with Syria, was the target of a drone strike that left three service members dead and more than forty others injured.
Although U.S. authorities have not provided specifics on how they plan to retaliate to the attack, President Biden vaguely pledged on Sunday that the U.S. “shall respond” to it.
Social media users ridiculed Jean-Pierre for her comments.
“Say what you will about this word salad, but the idea that anyone in the military is fighting on behalf of any administration is precisely what is wrong with the DC ruling class,” tweeted Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The Biden Administration is amateurish, disorganized, disrespectful and an embarrassment to the United States,” said foreign policy analyst Nile Gardiner.
“These are not ‘folks’,” said former Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.). “They are service members who gave their lives NOT for this administration, but for the Country they serve!
The Army’s enlistment oath, taken by each new service member, vows to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
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