Four years ago, the world saw what weakness looks like. In the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal, thirteen of our bravest service members were killed at Abbey Gate. Hundreds more were wounded. Thousands of our allies and friends were abandoned. Billions of dollars in U.S. military equipment was handed over to the Taliban. That was Joe Biden’s legacy: weakness, chaos, and betrayal.
I know, because I saw what happened next.
As a former Navy SEAL, I’ve spent my life serving in some of the most dangerous corners of the world. So when the Biden administration ordered its disastrous withdrawal, and the call came to save Christian missionary families, interpreters who worked alongside our military, doctors, and more — I answered.
Before Abbey Gate collapsed into tragedy, I worked remotely with friends at the airport — trying by phone and email to move families through as best we could while the chaos unfolded. Others we helped through different channels. After the attack, my team pushed in through Tajikistan and up along the border, slipping into valleys and villages where the Taliban were tightening their grip. We walked river corridors, studied checkpoints, tracked Russian and Chinese movements, and fed intelligence back to those still trying to save lives. The routes we opened became lifelines, and by the end, thousands got out through them.
We had to step in where our own government failed.
But the truth is, Americans like us never should have been put in that position. Ordinary citizens were forced to do the work because the Biden administration abandoned its responsibility. It wasn’t just the people in Afghanistan who were failed; it was every American. For the first time in my life overseas, I saw Americans looked at with disdain. Allies didn’t see us as strong. They saw weakness. They saw a president who surrendered Bagram Air Base in the middle of the night without telling our Afghan partners. They saw the Taliban transformed overnight into one of the best-funded, best-equipped militaries in the region, armed with American night vision, thermal optics, aircraft, trucks, and weapons. All the blood spilled, all the treasure spent over two decades of war, was squandered in one act of cowardice.
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Weakness doesn’t just kill credibility. It gets people killed. Abbey Gate proved that. Ukraine proved that. Biden’s failure in Afghanistan emboldened our adversaries, and it sent a signal to Russia, China, and Iran that America was in retreat.
President Trump has proven the opposite. Our enemies know exactly where we stand. They know if they cross the line, they pay the price. When Iran threatened our allies, Trump dropped a bunker buster. Weeks later, Putin himself flew to Alaska to sit down with Trump. That’s not weakness; that’s peace through strength.
And because of that strength, the world takes notice.
In just seven months, President Trump has brokered seven peace deals: Congo and Rwanda, India and Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia, Cambodia and Thailand, Serbia and Kosovo, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia.
That’s the difference. One administration projected strength, demanded respect, and actually delivered peace. The other handed victory to terrorists, abandoned allies, and created a ripple effect of chaos that encouraged dictators and tyrants across the globe.
Abbey Gate and Afghanistan are not just headlines; today, we stand in remembrance of the families we aimed to save, the interpreters who placed their trust in us, the Gold Star families, and most importantly, those who gave their lives that day—those who will never again embrace their loved ones.
I honor Staff Sergeant Darin T. Hoover, Sergeant Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Sergeant Nicole L. Gee, Corporals Hunter Lopez, Daegan W. Page, and Humberto A. Sanchez, Lance Corporals David L. Espinoza, Jared M. Schmitz, Rylee J. McCollum, Dylan R. Merola, and Kareem M. Nikoui, Hospital Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, and Staff Sergeant Ryan C. Knauss—thirteen heroes who gave everything to protect others.
Their sacrifice stands as a solemn reminder: America cannot afford leaders who fold under pressure.
Our citizens, our allies, and our warriors deserve more than what they received at Abbey Gate. Peace through strength, not peace through apathy.
Today, remember those and their families who gave it all, at Abbey Gate.
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