Trump Falsely Claims Obama Didn’t Contact Families of Fallen Soldiers

[CaliCat 3,957]

The so-called president mocks our dead heroes, and sinks to a new low.

Trump Falsely Claims Obama Didn’t Contact Families of Fallen Soldiers

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/us/politics/trump-obama-killed-soldiers.html?_r=0

 

Apparently the so-called president thinks that the death os US solders is all about him, and falsely asserted on Monday that his predecessor, Barack Obama, and other presidents did not contact the families of American troops killed in duty, drawing a swift, angry rebuke from several of Mr. Obama’s former aides.

Answering a question about why he had not spoken publicly about the killing of four American Green Berets in an ambush in Niger two weeks ago, Mr. Trump said he had written personal letters to their families and planned to call them in the coming week.

“If you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn’t make calls,” Mr. Trump said during a news conference in the Rose Garden with the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell. “A lot of them didn’t make calls. I like to call when it’s appropriate.”

Mr. Trump’s assertion belied a long record of meetings Mr. Obama held with the families of killed service people, as well as calls and letters. Mr. Obama regularly traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to greet the caskets of troops, a ritual that began early in his presidency before he decided to deploy 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.

“This is an outrageous and disrespectful lie even by Trump standards,” Benjamin J. Rhodes, a former deputy national security adviser to Mr. Obama, posted on Twitter. “Also,” Mr. Rhodes added, “Obama never attacked a Gold Star family.”

[Jacque67 7,328]

"That's what I was told" is one of his verbal tics. He'd be terrible at poker.

 

Another article:

 

Sometimes it feels almost quaint to point out that the president just said something completely false. This is not one of those times, because President Trump just delivered one of the more grotesque fabrications in recent memory and it should not be allowed to stand. Going off the cuff at a press conference in the White House Rose Garden with Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, Trump made the absolutely staggering claim that President Obama—and unnamed "others" among his presidential predecessors—did not call the families of American soldiers who fell in combat while they were commander-in-chief. 

They merely sent letters, according to President Trump, but President Trump goes above and beyond them and makes phone calls. That's according to President Trump, anyway, who is wrong.

Trump, falsely, claims President Obama and other former President didn't make calls to bereaved families of service members who died. pic.twitter.com/FqWbxdkdFD

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 16, 2017

Here was the response from President Obama's former deputy chief of staff:

that's a ###### lie. to say president obama (or past presidents) didn't call the family members of soldiers KIA - he's a deranged animal.

— Alyssa Mastromonaco (@AlyssaMastro44) October 16, 2017

It's hard to blame Mastromonaco for her anger. It's almost certain that, in her former role so close to the president, she witnessed any number of calls he made to the families of fallen soldiers. She would have been exposed first-hand to the pain and tragedy of making those calls. Trump acknowledged how tough that part of the job is today. It would cut any of us much more deeply to have witnessed that and then hear a subsequent president say it never happened.

The immediate question was whether Trump knew his predecessors called families and was lying anyway, or more likely, that he was just saying things. When a reporter followed up, according to TPM, Trump clearly implied it was the latter:

“I don’t know if he did. No, no. I was told that he didn’t often and a lot of presidents don’t. They write letters,” Trump said. “President Obama I think probably did sometimes and maybe sometimes he didn’t. I don’t know. That’s what I was told. All I can do is ask my generals,” the President continued. “Other presidents did not call. They’d write letters and some presidents didn’t do anything.”

Once again, Trump used the term "my generals," a strongman characterization of his relationship to commanders of the national military. Trump clearly admitted that he was just throwing it out there that President Obama didn't call the families of those killed serving their country. Like at his rallies, he was testing a line to see if it would stick. It didn't because it was challenged, so he backtracked. Not once did the president consider the truth or reality of the situation, because to Donald Trump, the truth is whatever you can get enough people to believe. Still, that Trump is aware of how difficult the calls are but still willing to make wild claims about whether his predecessors made them is simply staggering.

[Jacque67 7,328]

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a13029550/trump-obama-call-soldier-families/

 

someone should have challenged him to name the four soldiers.

 

 

[Jacque67 7,328]

Trump on his claim other presidents didn’t call the families of fallen soldiers: "You could ask General Kelly if he got a call from Obama."

7 minutes ago ·  Twitter

 

(Kaitlan Collins)

 

way to go, Donnie , throwing Kelly under the bus, and making him relive a tragic moment in his life!

[CaliCat 3,957]

8 minutes ago, Jacque67 said:

Trump on his claim other presidents didn’t call the families of fallen soldiers: "You could ask General Kelly if he got a call from Obama."

7 minutes ago ·  Twitter

 

(Kaitlan Collins)

 

way to go, Donnie , throwing Kelly under the bus, and making him relive a tragic moment in his life!

 

 

It's obvious Trump has no respect for anyone's loss. He was complaining that he can only do four calls a day to the families of the dead. Oh, what a burden, right?

 

I come from a military family, and I find it repulsive that he thinks these sacrifices are all about him. 

[smilesammich 10,727]

7 minutes ago, CaliCat said:

 

 

It's obvious Trump has no respect for anyone's loss. He was complaining that he can only do four calls a day to the families of the dead. Oh, what a burden, right?

 

I come from a military family, and I find it repulsive that he thinks these sacrifices are all about him. 

typical narcissist, really not surprising he can't fathom sacrifice.

[Jacque67 7,328]

52 minutes ago, CaliCat said:

 

 

It's obvious Trump has no respect for anyone's loss. He was complaining that he can only do four calls a day to the families of the dead. Oh, what a burden, right?

 

I come from a military family, and I find it repulsive that he thinks these sacrifices are all about him. 

It's obscene.(Trump, not you)

[CaliCat 3,957]

1 hour ago, smilesammich said:

typical narcissist, really not surprising he can't fathom sacrifice.

 

I'd be happy if he could fathom reality, as it is. Anything else would be a bonus. 

[eieio 1,594]

Oh....the outrage

[JimandChristy 1,689]

26 minutes ago, eieio said:

Oh....the outrage

He is a moron even his Secretary of State acknowledges it.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Only the bestest words...

 

https://www.local10.com/news/politics/trump-speaks-to-widow-of-sgt-la-david-johnson

 

Trump to widow of Sgt La David Johnson: He knew what he signed up for...

[eieio 1,594]

Obama never bothered to call Gen. Kelly after his son was killed.   

[CaliCat 3,957]

10 hours ago, JimandChristy said:

He is a moron even his Secretary of State acknowledges it.

 

At this point the entire cabinet seems to have realized that. They are only a few months behind the rest of the country. LOL.

[JimandChristy 1,689]

36 minutes ago, eieio said:

Obama never bothered to call Gen. Kelly after his son was killed.   

Trump is a moron though.

[Jacque67 7,328]

3 minutes ago, JimandChristy said:

Trump is a moron though.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kelly-tried-to-keep-his-sons-death-out-of-politics-trump-had-other-ideas/2017/10/17/4b173890-b35b-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html

 

wonder how long Kelly will remain...