Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) took to Facebook Sunday to criticize U.S. leaders for not participating in the national unity rally in Paris to honor those who died in last week's terror attack.
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry received criticism for not joining the more than one million people who participated in the march, an event the Interior Ministry called "unprecedented."
"There was one noticeable absence – the man who promised in 2008 to restore America’s image around the world…the man nominated for the Nobel Peace prize just two weeks into this failed Presidency…the man who would seek to destroy those who effectively question what he is doing to America and her allies," Palin wrote on Facebook. "Where was President Obama? Or even, in his stead, Vice President Biden? Secretary Kerry?"
Others who criticized U.S. leadership include Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) and the New York Daily News:
U.S. Ambassador to France Jane Hartley represented the U.S. at the march. An administration official said security requirements that would have been required for Obama or Biden to be present may have distracted from the march, CNN reports.
Kerry said Monday he will travel to Paris this week, and said U.S. officials have been "deeply engaged" with French authorities since the attacks last week. He dismissed criticism of U.S. officials as "a bit of quibbling."
"I would have personally very much wanted to have been there [at the march] but couldn't do so because of the commitment that I had here and it is important to keep these kinds of commitments," Kerry said.
Read Palin's entire Facebook post below:
Before You Go
