President Donald Trump phone call not meant for media fodder

Published 9:09 am Friday, October 20, 2017

President Donald Trump was thrust unfairly into a controversy this week that never should have been.

Words spoken between a President and grieving family of a slain military member should not become headlines, fanned for days, by some media organizations unless something truly egregious was said.

But it was not. Nothing President Trump said in a call to the grieving family member was alarming. He was merely making a phone call to expresses condolences on behalf of the White House and the United States.

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White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly reminded us this week that any attempts to politicize grieving military families by political opponents or media organizations when nothing out of the ordinary was said is a mistake.

The country deserves better, our military deserves better.

Gen. Kelly understands the emotions of losing a son in the military since his own son was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. And, he eloquently reminded us this week that all men and women who serve and all families who lose loved ones should be treated with dignity and respect rather than pawns in political messiness.

President Trump’s phone call was a personal attempt to share sorrow for the loss. It was not out of the ordinary and certainly was not worthy of being a leading media story for days.