Peter Doocy reveals jaw-dropping response from WH official on why Biden skipped traditional 9/11 memorials



Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy revealed late Sunday the eyebrow-raising analogy a White House official used when asked why President Joe Biden is skipping traditional 9/11 memorial services.

As president, Biden has marked the 9/11 anniversary by visiting the sites hit by the hijacked planes in 2001. Last year, he spoke from the Pentagon. In 2021, he visited all three sites: Ground Zero in New York City, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

But this year, he will be speaking from a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, following a trip to Asia.

Reporting from Vietnam, Doocy explained that he contacted White House officials about the president's unusual 9/11 plans. That official, whom Doocy did not name, offered a strange analogy in response.

"When I asked a White House official why it is that President Biden was here [in Vietnam] and missing the 9/11 commemorations at the attack sites, the analogy that I was given is: 22 years after Pearl Harbor, U.S. presidents were not still going to visit Hawaii," Doocy said.

— (@)

It is the first time a sitting president will not visit one of the three crash sites on the anniversary of the attacks, Newsweek noted.

Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris commemorated the 9/11 anniversary at the September 11th Memorial in New York City. First lady Jill Biden attended a ceremony at the Pentagon memorial, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff was sent to lay a wreath in Shanksville.

Funny enough, the White House tried to spin the deviation from presidential tradition, and MSNBC was happy to pass it along.

"The fact that the president is going to be speaking at a military base in Alaska in particular, I'm told, is meant to send this message: that so many people after 9/11 were inspired to join the Armed Forces and that that is a ripple that isn't always talked about as much," MSNBC reporter Monica Alba said on Monday. "So that's something the White House wants to honor today."

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Biden mocks resurgence of Al Qaeda on 9/11 anniversary, gets booed at memorial: 'Terrible!'



President Joe Biden mocked the resurgence of Al Qaeda on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Saturday after earlier in the day being booed while visiting the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center.

What did Biden say?

While speaking with reporters at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania — the location where 44 Americans lost their lives after thwarting hijackers' plans to fly United Flight 93 into the White House or U.S. Capitol building — Biden admitted that Al Qaeda could "come back."

"If you would have told anybody that we were going to spend $300 million bucks a day for 20 years to try to unite the country after we got [Osama] bin Laden, after Al Qaeda was wiped out there— can Al Qaeda come back? Yeah," Biden said.

"But guess what? It's already back in other places," he continued, lowering his voice to a mocking tone. "What's the strategy? Every place where Al Qaeda is, we're going to invade and have troops stay in? Come on."

.@POTUS at #Flight93 Memorial: "What's the strategy? Every place where al-Qaeda is we're going to invade and have t… https://t.co/lp29iQ9Vd1
— CSPAN (@cspan) 1631389682.0

Biden's admission contradicted what he said just weeks ago. In defending the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, Biden described the mission there as a success.

"What interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point with al Qaeda gone? We went to Afghanistan for the express purpose of getting rid of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, as well as getting Osama bin Laden. And we did," Biden said on Aug. 20. "We went and did the mission."

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby later contradicted Biden.

"We know that al Qaeda is a presence, as well as ISIS, in Afghanistan, and we've talked about that for quite some time," he said.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admitted Thursday that Al Qaeda could make resurgence in Afghanistan, and the Biden administration is merely employing a "wait and see" approach.

"I think the whole community is kind of watching to see what happens and whether or not Al Qaeda has the ability to regenerate in Afghanistan," Austin said. "The nature of al Qaeda and ISIS-K is that, you know, they will always attempt to find space to grow and regenerate, whether it's there, whether it's in Somalia, whether it's in any other ungoverned space."

When was Biden booed?

While walking with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, Biden stopped to speak with a nearby person.

That's when the crowd of people began booing.

"You're a mug for what you did to Afghanistan," one man yelled. "Terrible! Terrible!"

Another person yelled, "Don't sniff 'em."

@justinbuffamante Look at the caln I ran into 🤣 #joebiden #barrackobama #hilaryclinton #billclinton #afghanistan #repost #bidensamut

White House press secretary Jen Psaki 'out of the office' this week as Afghanistan falls and President Biden vacations



White House press secretary Jen Psaki is "out of the office" this week while President Joe Biden vacations at Camp David — all while Afghanistan rapidly falls to the Taliban in a stunning takeover, Fox News reported.

What are the details?

The cable network said it sent questions to Psaki's White House email address Sunday morning and then tried to reach her once again Sunday evening — and each time received the same auto-reply: Psaki wouldn't be available this week.

"I will be out of the office from August 15th-August 22nd," Fox News said the auto-reply read. Others received the same auto-reply:

To confirm Fox reporting - We asked Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki for comment about Afghanistan.Here the actu… https://t.co/LszzkKUM2s

— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) 1629080272.0

Although Biden is on a scheduled vacation, Republicans ripped his absence amid a colossal disaster in a country that was the primary focal point following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States — a month shy of 20 years ago.

"Joe Biden has been commander-in-chief for seven months — the current failure in Afghanistan falls squarely on his shoulders," Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said. "His lack of leadership during this pivotal moment has been shameful — it has only served to embolden our adversaries and let down our allies."

Indeed, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled to Tajikistan, the presidential palace in Kabul on Sunday was "handed over" to the Taliban, and U.S. diplomatic members were forced to evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on helicopters — a scene that drew comparisons to the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam war.

In addition, Biden reportedly "overruled" top U.S. military commanders when he authorized the full withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. Vice President Kamala Harris also played a "key role" in Biden's decision.

What did folks have to say about Psaki?

Psaki's absence only added fuel to criticism of the Biden administration's handling of the crisis:

World watches a collapse of 20 yrs of US involvement in Afghanistan and WH takes vacation. I guess she will “circl… https://t.co/mYW8UrxQfC

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) 1629079450.0

Jen Psaki is leaving for a week. The Biden administration is in shambles.

— Ian Miles Cheong @ stillgray.substack.com (@stillgray) 1629095859.0

Jen Psaki took a week off when she realized that "circling back" to questions about why America just took the bigge… https://t.co/sBo8dwSJE1

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) 1629084733.0

Jen Psaki has time for vogue photo spreads from Annie Leibovitz. Fall of Kabul? Not so much.

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) 1629086755.0

Anything else?

Biden issued a Saturday statement placing blame on former President Donald Trump for the Afghanistan debacle — after which Trump blasted Biden, saying the current commander-in-chief "gets it wrong every time on foreign policy."

It's also been reported that Biden will address the American people on the Afghanistan situation in the "next few days."

New Jersey's Democratic governor reverses transit ban on US flags after massive public blowback



New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, ordered the Turnpike Authority to reverse its decision to take down U.S. flags after massive public outcry ahead of the 9/11 anniversary.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority announced that it would no longer allow residents to hang the flags on overpasses and other public edifices after the agency explained that it could not continue maintaining the flags.

"The long-standing policy of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority has been to prohibit the display of any flags, signs, or banners by private parties on Turnpike Authority property. While we appreciate the desire of some New Jersey residents to express their patriotism in these turbulent times by displaying flags on Turnpike and Parkway overpasses, Turnpike Authority regulations do not allow it, and for good reason," the Turnpike Authority said in a statement on Facebook.

'We should be proud of flying our flag'

After residents and veterans groups objected loudly to the order, Murphy relented on Tuesday.

"I don't like it," said Murphy when asked about it on a morning talk show at WPG radio. "Our flag represents the greatest nation in the history of the world, and that doesn't mean we're perfect, because we're not, but we are a great nation, and my gut tells me that we should be proud of flying our flag."

Murphy said that he had not heard of the issue before he was asked about it on the radio show. Later at a coronavirus update briefing, he said that the flag ban had been suspended, even if only temporarily.

"At least for the time being, the Turnpike Authority has suspended that," he said.

Many of the flags were put up after the Islamic terrorist attacks on 9/11 and had been maintained by residents and other groups for nearly 20 years. One town had planned to defy the transit order and replace the flags in a ceremony with the mayor's approval on September 11.

Here's a local news report about the backlash:

New Jersey State Agency Faces Backlash Over Plans To Remove American Flags From Highway Overpasseswww.youtube.com

New Jersey is taking down US flags from bridges installed after the 9/11 attacks, and residents are outraged



After nearly 20 years, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority has changed course and is taking down the U.S. flags installed on the overpasses in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and local residents are outraged.

The government agency explained its decision in a statement on its Facebook page.

"The New Jersey Turnpike Authority appreciates and applauds patriotism. We try to express patriotism ourselves every day by maintaining dozens of American flags at properties in our right of way — office buildings, toll plazas, service areas, maintenance facilities, State Police buildings, warehouses," the statement read.

"Those flags are treated with the utmost respect by Turnpike Authority personnel. They are flown on suitable staffs. They are illuminated at night. They are lowered to half-staff when the state is in mourning. They are removed, properly destroyed, and promptly replaced when they become faded or worn and are no longer suitable symbols of our national ideals," it continued.

"The long-standing policy of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority has been to prohibit the display of any flags, signs, or banners by private parties on Turnpike Authority property. While we appreciate the desire of some New Jersey residents to express their patriotism in these turbulent times by displaying flags on Turnpike and Parkway overpasses, Turnpike Authority regulations do not allow it, and for good reason," the statement said.

The statement went on to explain that the agency would not continue maintaining the flags, so they would have to be taken down.

"While we hope that everyone who wants to display the American flag finds a suitable location to do so, we believe that limiting the flags displayed on Turnpike Authority property to ones hung and maintained by Turnpike Authority staff is the best way to assure that all flags in the Turnpike and Parkway right of way are treated with the respect they deserve," the statement concluded.

In some cases, officials replaced the U.S. flags with a sign that read, "Placement of signage or items of any nature on this structure is strictly prohibited."

Residents are defiant

One town has decided that it will defy the decision and put the flags back up. In a Facebook group called "Replacing American Flags," residents of Robbinsville Township say they have the support of the mayor to replace the flags.

"With the full support of Mayor Dave Fried, we plan to re-hang the American flags on the overpasses throughout Robbinsville Township," read the page.

The residents say they plan to replace the flags on Friday, Sept. 11, the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Here's a news report about the overpass flags in New Jersey:

Woodbridge Flag Manwww.youtube.com