White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Thursday admonished a Democratic congresswoman for defiling something sacred by politicizing President Trump’s condolence call to the widow of a Green Beret killed in action in Niger.
He said he was “heartbroken” by attacks Wednesday on the President by Rep. Rep. Frederica Wilson, who was with the widow and listening on speakerphone to the call. She described Mr. Trump as disrespectful and insensitive.
“It stuns me that a member of Congress would listen in on that conversation,” said Mr. Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general whose son was killed in 2010 while serving as a Marine in Afghanistan.
Mr. Kelly lamented that few things are held sacred in America the way they were when he was growing up, including respect for women, religion and Gold Star families.
“Let’s try to somehow keep that sacred,” he said of the call to families of fallen service members. “But it eroded a great deal yesterday by the selfish behavior of a member of Congress.”
Mrs. Wilson said she was in the car with Myeisha Johnson on Tuesday when Mr. Trump called to express condolences for the loss of her husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, one of four special forces soldiers killed in an Oct. 4 ambush in Niger.
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Mrs. Johnson was on her way to Miami International Airport to meet her husband’s body.
The Florida congresswoman said Mr. Trump told the widow that her husband “knew what he signed up for, but when it happens it hurts anyway.”
Mr. Kelly said that the president was saying that Sgt. Johnson was “a brave man, a fallen hero, he knew what he was getting into,” commending him for enlisting to serve his country.
“He was where he wanted to be and with the people he wanted to be with. That was the message,” he told reporters at the daily White House briefing. “It stuns me that a member of Congress would listen in on that conversation. Absolutely stuns me.”
Mr. Trump called family members Tuesday of each of the four Special Forces servicemembers killed in Niger.
Mr. Kelly said he coached Mr. Trump, who never served in the military, on what to say in the call. He said that the most comforting calls he received when his son, Second Lt. Robert Kelly, was killed came from his son’s Marine buddies.
“When he died he was surrounded by the best men on this earth, his friends,” said Mr. Kelly. “That’s what the president tried to say to four families the other day.”
He said that all presidents write letters to family members of service members killed in action but some presidents also choose to make a phone call.
He confirmed that President Obama did not call him when his son was killed in Afghanistan, a claim made by Mr. Trump in defense of criticism that he did not call families quickly enough.
Mr. Kelly said that he did not expect a call from Mr. Obama. He said he was simply stating the fact that Mr. Obama did not call.
“That’s not a negative thing,” he said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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