Gov. Cox joins Trump to meet fallen Utah hero’s family; asks Biden to do the same

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox visited Arlington National Cemetery alongside former President Donald Trump on Monday morning.
Cox and Trump joined the families of U.S. service members killed outside of the Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021, three years ago today. The family of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover of Salt Lake City were among those participating in Monday’s wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The visit was facilitated by Marlon Bateman, a Utah resident and a former State Department official under Trump. When reached via phone Monday, Bateman declined to comment.
Cox said it was an “honor to be at Arlington National Cemetery along side the family of Staff Stg. Darin Taylor Hoover as we paid tribute to his sacrifice.”
“I encourage everyone to join me in remembering the 13 brave individuals who gave their lives at Abbey Gate in defense of our great nation,” Cox said, through a spokesperson.
Cox, in a letter dated Aug. 25, 2024, invited President Joe Biden to “consider meeting with the family of Staff Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover” as an act of “accepting responsibility” for the tragedy.
“I know that you and I disagree strongly on the Afghanistan withdrawal from a strategic and moral perspective and our credibility on the world stage,” Cox wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Deseret News. “However, I know we also agree that the loss of those brave men and women was a terrible tragedy.”
Cox said the Hoover family feels “a profound loss and frustration that has been compounded by a lack of an apology or acknowledgement of responsibility from your administration and those responsible.”
“I join them in that frustration,” Cox added.
Cox said he would be “happy to help facilitate” a meeting between the two groups. “I realize a meeting would be very uncomfortable and there is nothing that can reverse the mistakes and tragedy of that day, but accepting responsibility is part of the mantle of leadership and can accelerate the healing of those who have lost their precious loved ones,” Cox wrote.
A spokesperson for Cox said, “The White House acknowledged and thanked us for the letter.”
On Monday morning, Biden released a statement condemning the “deliberate evil” that killed the U.S. service members and called them “patriots in the highest sense.” The statement listed each of the fallen service members by name.
Last month, Hoover’s parents were among those featured in a video at the Republican National Convention who criticized Biden for his leadership during the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Gold Star family members criticized Biden for never publicly saying the names of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the bombings in 2021.
“Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice,” Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, said at the RNC. “Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names. He knew all of their stories.”
In August 2023, Trump welcomed the service members’ families to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
On Monday morning, Trump criticized Biden on Truth Social. “This is the third anniversary of the BOTCHED Afghanistan withdrawal, the most EMBARRASSING moment in the history of our Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Gross Incompetence – 13 DEAD American soldiers, hundreds of people wounded and dead, AMERICANS and BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND.”
“You don’t take our soldiers out first, you take them out LAST, when all else is successfully done,” he added. “Russia then invaded Ukraine, Israel was attacked, and the USA became, and is, a laughing stock all over the World. THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA REMAINS SILENT IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE WORST ADMINISTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY!”
Cox, who has long been a critic of Trump, endorsed the former president last month. Cox said he believed the attempted assassination on Trump provided the former president with an opportunity to “unify and save our country,” and he offered his support to help Trump do so.
“You can make your success, in leading our country to a new era of peace, unity, and prosperity, the greatest way to silence your critics,” Cox wrote in a letter to Trump.
Trump drew criticism last week for claiming the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a civilian award, was “much better” than the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor.
“It’s actually much better, because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, that’s soldiers, they’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead,” Trump said, speaking at an event at his Bedminster club.
This story has been updated.