A Utah Gold Star family expressed their anger and pain following President Joe Biden's incorrect statement during the first debate with former President Donald Trump that no US troops had died under his administration. The Hoover family, who lost their son during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, felt particularly aggrieved.

Darin Hoover, father of Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, described Biden's comments as tone-deaf and hurtful. He shared a photo with KUTV of himself and his son, taken during their last dinner together before Sgt. Hoover deployed.

“This picture was taken the last time I had dinner with him, right before he deployed,” Hoover said. “I was able to tell him how much I loved him and how proud I was of him.”

Sgt. Taylor Hoover was killed by a suicide bomber at Hamid Karzai International Airport in 2021, a tragic event that still deeply affects his family.

“I was always proud of him, but that was the last time I got to tell him,” Hoover said, sharing his ongoing grief and the difficulty of hearing President Biden's remarks.

"I started yelling at the TV. It's getting the band-aid ripped off," Hoover explained, emphasizing the disrespect felt by himself and other families of fallen soldiers from that day.

"It's ridiculous that a man in that position could come out and not care and respect us," Hoover added. "An apology right now would sound hollow; it would be nice, but it would ring hollow.”

The Hoover family, along with other Gold Star families, continue to seek answers and accountability for the events that led to their loved ones' deaths in Afghanistan.