Kelly defends Trump’s call to widow
Chief of staff chides House member for publicizing incident
WASHINGTON - White House chief of staff John Kelly said Thursday he was “stunned and broken-hearted” after Rep. Frederica Wilson listened to a conversation with the widow of a slain U.S. soldier and then criticized President Donald Trump’s attempts to console her.
“There’s no perfect way to make that phone call,” said Kelly, who appeared at a White House press briefing.
Kelly said the comments Trump made Tuesday to Army Sgt. La David Johnson’s widow, Myeshia Johnson, were similar to those spoken to him after his son was killed in Afghanistan.
“He was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed,” Kelly said. “He knew what he was getting into when he joined” the military. “And when he died he was surrounded by the best men on this Earth, his friends. That’s what the president tried to say to the four families” of soldiers killed recently in Niger.
Kelly said that the conversation in the aftermath of a military death is one of the only aspects of American life that has not been politicized.
Yet, “it eroded a great deal yesterday by the selfish behavior of a member of Congress,” he said. “I thought at least that was sacred.”
The controversy erupted Monday after Trump was questioned about why he hadn’t responded earlier to the death of four military members in Niger and he responded by noting, inaccurately, that former President Barack Obama didn’t call Gold Star families during his presidency.