What the columnists said

All Trump had to do was apologize and tell Johnson he hadn’t meant any offense, said Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. But “his fragile ego” will not let him admit any error. As a narcissist, he cannot feel, let alone acknowledge, other people’s pain; he sees it as “weakness.” It’s no coincidence that Wilson and Johnson are both black, said Jamelle Bouie in Slate.com. Whenever Trump is criticized by a woman of color, he is always “more aggressive, more interested in making a spectacle.” He knows his supporters feed on “racial resentment.”

Rep. Wilson isn’t blameless, said David French in NationalReview .com. She should have quietly told the White House that the call had pained Johnson, giving Trump a chance to “right the perceived wrong” instead of embarrassing him publicly. But the president “bears the primary responsibility.” By going into his usual attack mode, he made a Gold Star family “collateral damage” in a political battle. “This entire story should deeply grieve Americans.”

The story should also tell us something important about Trump’s view of the military, said Paul Waldman in TheWeek.com. His primary concern when U.S. soldiers die is whether it makes him “look bad.” On one hand, his “fear of damage to his own image” might discourage the president from “military adventurism.” On the other, if he sees an opportunity for “some glorious victory for Donald Trump,” he probably won’t much care “how many lives are lost.”