President Donald Trump signed a proclamation marking the fourth anniversary of the Afghanistan Abbey Gate attack that killed 13 service members, while he put former President Joe Biden’s administration on notice that they are going to get to the bottom of how the tragedy happened.
In a ceremony in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump invited Gold Star Families to be there when he signed the “FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATTACK AT ABBEY GATE, 2025” proclamation and said it was way past time that these families and their loved ones were honored.
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Trump said we are “four years into this nightmare” and made it clear that it’s time for people in the Biden White House to be held accountable for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The proclamation read, in part:
On July 2, 2021, as an empowered Taliban was in the midst of waging a civil war in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden began a disastrous withdrawal from Bagram Airfield in the middle of the night without alerting the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. As a direct result of the Biden Administration’s reckless political stunt designed to claim victory on the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, our men and women in uniform were left without a defensible base of operations, allowing the Taliban to free thousands of bloodthirsty terrorists and criminals held captive at Bagram prison.
At exactly 5:36 pm on August 26, 2021, a barbaric ISIS-K terrorist — one of the prisoners set free by the Taliban less than two months earlier — detonated a suicide bomb at a civilian gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the main entry point for an evacuation operation. As a result, 13 brave American service members were killed, 45 were wounded, and more than 160 civilians were injured, resulting in the single deadliest day for United States forces in a decade.
Trump said as Commander in Chief, he “will never allow our military service members to be so betrayed, our friends to be so abandoned, and our credibility to be so destroyed.”
President Trump officially proclaims August 26, 2025, as a day in commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the attack at Abbey Gate.
Here is the Proclamation’s text:
On one of the darkest days in our Nation’s history, 4 years ago, the gates of hell sprung open when an evil… pic.twitter.com/4qVzUiKBAW
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 25, 2025
“As our Nation solemnly marks 4 years since the attack at Abbey Gate, we honor the memory of the 13 brave souls and every military service member to ever die in the line of duty — and we renew our resolve to protect American lives, defend American interests, and uphold American sovereignty,” the proclamation read.
The entire proclamation can be read here.
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.@SecDef joins @POTUS and Gold Star families in the Oval Office: “On behalf of this beautiful group… America deserves answers as far as what happened in Afghanistan. The military needs to answer for what happened in Afghanistan.” pic.twitter.com/pDS1SOjK35
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 25, 2025
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reflected on the attack and provided information about an investigation into the Biden withdrawal.
“On behalf of this beautiful group… America deserves answers as far as what happened in Afghanistan,” Hegseth said. “The military needs to answer for what happened in Afghanistan. So, upon the president’s direction, immediately, we initiated an investigation, which showed that there needed to be an even deeper dive.”
“It’s a top priority for us,” he added. “We’re getting access to all the documents necessary. Why decisions were made, why they weren’t made. Why certain force protection measures were ignored — again, there’s never been accountability for this.”
“It’s something that Joe Biden allowed to happen that never should’ve happened…These families deserve answers. We are going to be honest about it,” Hegseth continued. “We’re going to get to the bottom of it.
Hegseth said to look for the results of the investigation around the “middle of 2026.”
During the ceremony, Vice President JD Vance also took a moment to pay tribute to those who gave their lives.
“We’re so proud of you and we’re so proud of your loved ones for giving their lives for our country,” says @VP to the Gold Star Families of the Abbey Gate heroes.
“The fact that the President of the United States lost your loved ones to incompetence, but never acknowledged it…… pic.twitter.com/IRpfbA2Z2G
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 25, 2025
“We’re so proud of you and we’re so proud of your loved ones for giving their lives for our country,” Vance said. “The fact that the President of the United States lost your loved ones to incompetence, but never acknowledged it… We correct that wrong today.”
It is long past time for some answers, but we can be thankful that it’s finally happening, and this is exactly what I voted for.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America’s military.
Help us report on Trump and Hegesth’s successes as they make our military great again. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
