'She can go to hell': JD Vance attacks VP Kamala Harris over withdrawal from Afghanistan
Republican vice presidential nominee Ohio Sen. JD Vance on Wednesday said Vice President Kamala Harris can "go to hell" for the Biden administration's response to the deaths of service members during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The comment came as Vance was questioned during a campaign stop in Erie, Pennsylvania, about criticism that former President Donald Trump used a Monday visit to Arlington National Cemetery marking the third anniversary of the withdrawal as a photo opportunity.
"Three years ago, 13 brave, innocent Americans died because Kamala Harris refused to do her job and there hasn't been a single investigation or a single firing," Vance said. "But to have those 13 Americans lose their lives and not fire a single person is disgraceful. Kamala Harris is disgraceful. We want to talk about a story out of those 13 brave innocent Americans who lost their lives it's that Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won't even do an investigation into what happened and she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up... she can... she can go to hell."
More: As Trump attacks, Harris says Biden was right to withdraw from Afghanistan
On Monday, Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, said that she stands by President Joe Biden's decision to leave Afghanistan.
"As I have said, President Biden made the courageous and right decision to end America’s longest war," Harris said. "Over the past three years, our Administration has demonstrated we can still eliminate terrorists, including the leaders of al-Qaeda and ISIS, without troops deployed into combat zones. I will never hesitate to take whatever action necessary to counter terrorist threats and protect the American people and the homeland."
The U.S. conflict in Afghanistan started shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
More: 'Furious': Veterans slam Trump team's altercation at Arlington National Cemetery
Two sources told USA TODAY the incident at Arlington Vance was questioned about occurred when a member of Trump's team pushed his way into recording in a part of the cemetery, known as Section 60, where photography is prohibited.
Video from Section 60, where recently buried U.S. service members are interred, later appeared in a Trump campaign Tik Tok in which he criticizes President Biden and Harris.
USA TODAY reporters Rachel Barber, Josh Meyer, Zac Anderson and Tom Vanden Brook contributed to this report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: JD Vance criticizes Kamala Harris over Afghanistan withdrawal
