Critics of President Donald Trump argue he lacks the decorum required of the presidency, pointing to his frank posts on social media. Yet, for Gold Star father Mark Schmitz, respect isn’t measured by tweets, but by personal conduct.
Schmitz is the Wentzville, Missouri, father of fallen Marine Lance Corporal Jared M. Schmitz, who was killed in action along with 12 other U.S. service members during the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
When it comes to how the elder Schmitz was treated face-to-face, he describes a night-and-day difference between Presidents Biden and Trump.
“I’m still convinced that Biden has no idea who my son is, or who the other 12 are either, for that matter,” Schmitz said in an exclusive interview with The Heartlander this week. He recalled the time he met with Biden at Dover Air Force Base following the death of his son.
“I took out my phone and I said, ‘That’s my son. That’s my son, Jared.’ It looked like [Biden] was looking right through my phone, you know, like it wasn’t registering. That’s when I leaned down to look up into his face and I said, ‘You might want to take some time to learn their stories.’
“And that’s when he turned to me and barked, ‘I know their stories.’ He didn’t yell, but he raised his voice very sternly. Right then and there was the one and only time that I thought, for just a split second, I’m going to throat punch this mother—–r.”
In contrast, Trump – although out of office at the time – called Schmitz in 2021 to offer condolences after the 13 were killed in Kabul, Afghanistan. That was before Trump announced he was going to run for a second term.
In August of this year, Schmitz and the other families were invited to the White House to meet Trump in the Oval Office.
“It took four years to get in there, and we finally got in and got to meet with [Trump],” Schmitz says. “He’s always been very passionate about the 13 families. He cares to ask questions, talks to each of us individually about our kids. I don’t know how much of that’s coached to him to learn the information, but in any regard, it’s sincere. You know, it comes across as sincere.”
Then, just after Thanksgiving, Schmitz received a hand-signed letter from President Trump dated Oct. 10. Donned with his familiar permanent marker signature, the letter called Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan the “single most embarrassing display of American foreign policy in the history of our country.”
“This [letter] is directed towards my son and his 12 brothers and sisters and that event that happened there, not just the ‘We’re sorry from a grateful nation’ nonsense,” Schmitz notes. “We got that step-and-repeat letter from Biden’s office, clearly with the auto pen. I felt the back of the paper on Biden’s letter and it was regular ink with no indention. It was just printed and sent.”
In the letter, Trump vowed to pursue the ISIS Jihadis responsible for the Kabul airport attack and bring them to justice in the United States.
Trump concludes by praising Jared’s patriotism and supporting the family’s mission to honor his legacy through the “Freedom 13” organization that Mark created.
