When Americans heard about the tragic deaths of the four U.S. troops, killed in an attack by Islamic extremists in Niger, on October 4, their first thought for most of us, was sadness for the families of the brave troops.

Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Sgt. La David Johnson, Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright and Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson were killed in an ambush by Islamic extremists in Niger.

For Democrat Congresswoman Frederica Wilson of Florida, her first thought was how she could use a condolence call made by President Trump to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, as a way to harm President Trump.

Barack Obama and Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

Unfortunately, for the other 3 families, who are grieving the unimaginable loss of their loved ones, the actions of the selfish, partisan, politician Frederica Wilson, have caused a media circus that is laser-focused on the choice of words President Trump used in his call to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, rather than the loss of 4 honorable men who sacrificed their lives for our country.y.

Rep. Frederica Wilson, who was in the car with Johnson’s family, said that Trump had told the widow, “You know that this could happen when you signed up for it…but it still hurts.” Wilson claimed President Trump also referred to Sgt. Johnson as “your guy,” which the partisan congresswoman claimed was an insensitive statement.

 

President Trump, Sarah Sanders-Huckabee and General John Kelly, who was in the room when Trump called Johnson’s widow, Myeshia Johnson, to offer his condolences refuted the claims.

 

The hullabaloo surrounding the phone call President Trump made to Sgt. Johnson’s widow is not sitting well with the father of Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, a green beret and member of a family with a long history of service to our U.S. military.

In an interview with Time, Arnold Wright, the father of another one of the four American soldiers killed in Niger said Wednesday that Trump was respectful when he called with his condolences. The father of the late Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright,  told TIME:

“This isn’t about Donald Trump and this isn’t about a damn phone call,” he said. “This is about my son and the kind of man he was. He died in a bad situation that needs to be changed. And he’s not coming back home.”

Arnold Wright said that he and Trump spoke for about 20 minutes, and that Trump mostly listened.

“He talked to me about the loss of my son and how he served with honor and dignity and he just wanted to give me a call to thank me,” Arnold Wright told TIME in a phone interview. “I told him the kind of man Dustin was. We talked about his deployment. … We got troops out there with no air cover. There are still teams in the country. That was the main point that was the conversation.”

Arnold Wright said he had no qualms about the fact that Trump’s phone call came nearly two weeks after his son’s death was announced.

The show of support for Trump by a Gold Star father came as Trump is under fire from Democrats, former military leaders and other Gold Star families for his handling of the aftermath of the soldiers’ deaths in Niger. In defending his delay before calling the families, Trump falsely asserted Monday that former President Barack Obama had never made such calls. The controversy flared anew when Florida Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson said that Trump told Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, that her husband “knew what he signed up for.” Trump on Wednesday called that account of their conversation “totally fabricated,” but Cowanda Jones-Johnson, Staff Sgt. Johnson’s mother, confirmed Wilson’s account and told the Washington Post that “President Trump did disrespect my son.”

Arnold Wright had a different experience in talking to Trump about his late son.

“The tone was great,” Wright said. “His comments were appropriate.”

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When pressed if Trump had said something similar to him, Wright said twice that Trump did not, adding that he didn’t see anything problematic about it anyway.

“I’ll say it: my son knew what he signed up for. He signed up to be a green beret. He had no illusions about what that meant,” said Wright, a military veteran himself. “My son came from a military family with a tradition that dates back to 1812. He fully knew what it means to serve and the risk involved.”

 

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