Politics

Jen Psaki Apologizes To Gold Star Families For Her Defense Of Biden’s Watch-Checking Moment

Secretary Psaki Holds Daily Press Briefing At The White House

(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Julianna Frieman Contributor
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Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki apologized to Gold Star families Friday for her defense of President Joe Biden’s watch-checking moment while at a ceremony honoring the 13 soldiers killed during his administration’s 2021 botched Afghanistan withdrawal.

Psaki faced backlash in May for writing in her book, “Say More,” that Biden only checked his watch after the ceremony concluded. The now-MSNBC host’s false claim contradicted various fact checks from September 2021, forcing her to retract the claim in further reprints, the New York Post reported.

Psaki “agreed to apologize” to the 13 Gold Star families who she contradicted in her book Friday during a House Foreign Affairs interview, Republican Florida Rep. Mike Waltz said on X.

“Just left the House Foreign Affairs interview with Jen Psaki,” Waltz wrote. “She agreed to apologize to the 13 Afghanistan Gold Star families whom she falsely contradicted in her book when she said Biden didn’t look at his watch.”

“This isn’t a partisan or gotcha moment,” he continued. “This is the right thing to do as fellow Americans and I pray she follows through.”

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul probed Psaki about her comments in “Say More,” pressing her multiple times before she apologized, according to the Washington Examiner. (RELATED: Top US General Warned Biden That Afghanistan Would Get ‘Very Bad, Very Fast’ After Withdrawal)

“The chairman asked Ms. Psaki about her comments regarding President Biden looking at his watch while at Dover [Air Force Base] and asked her if she had anything she wanted to say to the families on the record,” Leslie Shedd, Foreign Affairs Committee majority spokeswoman, said in a statement to the outlet. “After pressing her multiple times if she had something she wanted to say to them, Ms. Psaki asked the chairman to pass along her apology to the families and to express her regret for the pain she caused them. He has done that.”

On June 27, Biden falsely claimed that no troops died under his watch in a debate against 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. This comes after Gold Star families called upon Biden to admit his mistakes and honor the fallen.