Trump Blames Biden for Abbey Gate Deaths on Anniversary
Former president criticises withdrawal five years after attack that killed 13 US service members.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump Blames Biden for Abbey Gate Deaths on Anniversary
Photograph: Joe.My.God. (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Thirteen American service members were killed on August 26, 2021, at Abbey Gate during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
- Former President Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden for the deaths, calling the withdrawal "botched".
- Trump negotiated with the Taliban without involving the Afghan government, and the withdrawal took longer than his timetable, according to one report.
- The attack was carried out by a lone ISIS-K terrorist.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
59/100
Hype
41/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Thirteen American service members died on August 26, 2021, in an attack at Abbey Gate during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The incident occurred during the final stages of the evacuation. The attack was carried out by a lone ISIS-K terrorist.
Disagreement on Trump's role in withdrawal
Joe.My.God. reported that Donald Trump "forever forgets he caused the withdrawal problem by negotiating with the Taliban without the Afghan government involved." This report also stated that the withdrawal "took longer than the timetable he created." None of the other reports mention Trump's prior negotiations with the Taliban or the length of his withdrawal timetable.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention Donald Trump's prior negotiations with the Taliban or that the withdrawal took longer than his timetable. The left-rated report from Joe.My.God. was the only source to include these details.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 27 Aug 2026, 01:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- The left-rated report from Joe.My.God. focused on Donald Trump's criticism of Joe Biden's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. The report stated that Trump "immediately blames Joe Biden for the 13 deaths at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan." It also quoted Trump calling the event "one of the greatest atrocities in the History of our Nation, and we can never forget that it was the result of the sheer incompetence of Joe Biden and the Democrats who were in charge." The report also included commentary from social media users who claimed Trump "surrendered to the Taliban" and "freed 5000 Taliban" without consulting the Afghan government.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
5 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports from Breitbart, Just the News, The White House, The Free Press (Tampa), and RedState focused on tributes to the fallen service members and the anniversary of the attack. Breitbart stated that "President Donald Trump paid tribute to the 13 fallen servicemembers killed in the Abbey Gate bombing five years ago on Wednesday during former President Joe Biden's botched Afghanistan withdrawal." Just the News noted that "The incident saw 13 Americans killed by a lone ISIS-K terrorist" and that Trump "formally declared Aug. 26, 2026, as a day of remembrance for the fallen soldiers." The White House issued a proclamation for the "Fifth Anniversary of the Attack at Abbey Gate." The Free Press (Tampa) reported that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement marking the anniversary and that the attack "killed 13 American service members and more than 160 Afghan civilians." RedState reported that "Trump honors Abbey Gate heroes and condemns Biden's botched Afghanistan withdrawal."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump Blames Biden for Abbey Gate Deaths on Anniversary?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 17% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 83% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump Blames Biden for Abbey Gate Deaths on Anniversary left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump Blames Biden for Abbey Gate Deaths on Anniversary biased?
- Trump Blames Biden for Abbey Gate Deaths on Anniversary is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump Blames Biden for Abbey Gate Deaths on Anniversary?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump Blames Biden for Abbey Gate Deaths on Anniversary?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many US service members died at Abbey Gate?
- Thirteen American service members were killed at Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021. The attack occurred during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and was carried out by a lone ISIS-K terrorist.
- Who did Donald Trump blame for the Abbey Gate deaths?
- Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden for the deaths of the 13 service members at Abbey Gate. Trump described the withdrawal as "botched" and attributed the catastrophe to "sheer incompetence" of the Biden administration.
- Did any reports mention Donald Trump's role in the withdrawal negotiations?
- One report, from Joe.My.God., stated that Donald Trump caused withdrawal problems by negotiating with the Taliban without the Afghan government's involvement. This report also noted that the withdrawal took longer than Trump's own timetable.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
5- Trump Tributes 13 Fallen Servicemembers on Fifth Anniversary of Abbey Gate Bombing (opens Breitbart in a new tab)
- You Vote: On this 5th anniversary of the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, what do you think? (opens Just the News in a new tab)
Just the News — is Just the News biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Fifth Anniversary of the Attack at Abbey Gate (opens The White House in a new tab)
The White House — is The White House biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Five Years After Abbey Gate: Rubio Marks Kabul Airport Attack Anniversary - Tampa Free Press (opens The Free Press (Tampa) in a new tab)
The Free Press (Tampa) — is The Free Press (Tampa) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Vows Abbey Gate Heroes Will Never Be Forgotten (opens RedState in a new tab)
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
