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Politico: WH staff drafted Niger sympathy statement for Trump that never released

W

whyamihere

Banned
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/18/trump-niger-condolence-statement-243917

A staffer at the National Security Council drafted a statement of condolence for President Donald Trump to make almost immediately after a deadly ambush of U.S. soldiers in Niger earlier this month.

But Trump never issued the statement, and, some two weeks later, is now in hot water over his initial silence on the soldiers' deaths and alleged controversial comments he made to a widow of one of the dead.

The draft statement, a copy of which was seen by POLITICO on Wednesday, was put together on Oct. 5 and reads as follows:

”Melania and I are heartbroken at the news that three U.S. service members were killed in Niger on October 4 while providing guidance and assistance to Nigerien security force counter-terror operations. We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these brave American soldiers and patriots. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers.

"We are also praying for the two U.S. service members who were injured in the incident. We wish them a complete and swift recovery.

"The heroic Americans who lost their lives yesterday did so defending our freedom and fighting violent extremism in Niger. Our administration and our entire nation are deeply grateful for their sacrifice, for their service, and for their patriotism."

The statement was circulated among NSC officials as well as Defense Department officials. But it was never released, and it was not immediately clear why.

NSC spokesman Michael Anton declined to comment. The NSC staffer who wrote the original draft hung up on a POLITICO reporter who called to ask about it.
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For 12 days, Trump stayed silent on the deaths, which ultimately numbered four, even though White House officials said he'd been briefed on the matter. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did address the deaths during a press briefing on Oct. 5, saying the administration's ”thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the fallen."

On Monday, Trump was pressed during a news conference about why he had not spoken publicly about the deaths. He defended himself by saying he'd written to the deceased's relatives, and then falsely claimed that former President Barack Obama and other past presidents had never or rarely called the families of U.S. troops who died.
Click to expand...

The controversy over Trump's treatment of the issue has since snowballed amid allegations that he spoke callously to the wife of one of the fallen U.S. troops, Sgt. La David T. Johnson, during a phone call on Tuesday, the same day she greeted his body at the airport.

According to people who listened to the call on speaker, Trump said something to the effect of how the late sergeant knew what he had signed up for, but that it hurt regardless.

On his Twitter account Wednesday, Trump denied saying anything inappropriate in the call, and has been publicly feuding with a Democratic congresswoman who accused him of being insensitive to Johnson's widow.
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H

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
They couldn’t get him to pronounce the soft g.
 
I

Iksenpets

Banned
I just saw that the defense they're falling back on now is "General Kelly said he felt Trump did the best he could", which seems both technically and terribly depressing. Also, Kelly's life is just an endless chain of humiliation now that he has to be Trump's personal shield against all accusations of Trump's impropriety towards the military.
 
S

shiba5

Member
Iksenpets said:
I just saw that the defense they're falling back on now is "General Kelly said he felt Trump did the best he could", which seems both technically and terribly depressing. Also, Kelly's life is just an endless chain of humiliation now that he has to be Trump's personal shield against all accusations of Trump's impropriety towards the military.
Click to expand...

"What do you expect from Racist Grandpa? He's new at this."
 
I

Iksenpets

Banned
Random Painted HIghway said:
I think everybody, or perhaps just me, has been waiting with baited breath for him to pronounce niger.
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I almost feel like it would be funnier if he went the opposite direction and gave a heavily affected nee-zhaaaairrr, as though they had spent the whole two weeks coaching him on proper French pronunciation.
 
K

Kill Your Masters

Member
Iksenpets said:
I almost feel like it would be funnier if he went the opposite direction and gave a heavily affected nee-zhaaaairrr, as though they had spent the whole two weeks coaching him on proper French pronunciation.
Click to expand...

dtkFm6D.gif


But with the n word.
 
D

Deleted member 1159

Unconfirmed Member
It’s almost like the insane narccistic psychopath doesn’t actually give a shit about gold star families and their pain.
 
S

SoundofSilence

Member
Thaedolus said:
It’s almost like the insane narccistic psychopath doesn’t actually give a shit about gold star families and their pain.
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Not so surprising considering that he has lived in a gold tower hundreds of feet above Fifth Ave. for nearly 40 years. From that height, people are ants.
 
N

n00bsauce87

Member
”Melania and I are heartbroken at the news that three U.S. service members were killed in Niger on October 4 while providing guidance and assistance to Nigerien security force counter-terror operations.
Click to expand...

three U.S. service members
Click to expand...

Not only did Trump bowled a gutter ball with the child bumpers up in this debacle, the team looking out for him couldn't even get the correct number of service members correct. It was four who died in Niger.

*applies tin-foil hat*

So is what they are saying is that they were willing to sweep Sgt. La David Johnson under the rug because they (at the time) couldn't recover his body? I can't believe that this could be the case because that is disgusting.

So much to process
 
N

norinrad

Member
When does the Republican party take a stand and say no? Na they won't. They finally found someone to do their dirty work and show the rest of the world how they think.
 
B

Balphon

Member
They presumably needed Trump's sign off to release it and he wouldn't give it because either:

a) He couldn't be bothered; or
b) He viewed it as tantamount to an admission of fault and couldn't handle the hit to his own ego.
 
M

MCN

Banned
Log4Girlz said:
If he doesn't like people who get captured, he must hate people who get killed
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It's not that he doesn't like them. He just doesn't care about them. They aren't him, therefore they are utterly insignificant and worthless to him.
 
P

Palette Swap

Member
I guess this explains the fable he pulled about other presidents never honoring fallen soldiers. That guy is so scummy.

Slayven said:
They were scared he would pronounce it the way he is use to saying
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Haha. This actually rings true.

(tbh, at this point, him publicly pronouncing the other word is more a when than an if)
 
N

N7 MRP Weasel

Banned
I laughed at the thought of having a robot for a president in fallout, nothing could be better than a person chosen by the people.

Here i am almost a decade later seeing what perhaps the enclave saw...
 
J

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
Ok, so where is all the outrage now for actual disrespect to the military.
 
M

Mugsy

Member
n00bsauce87 said:
Not only did Trump bowled a gutter ball with the child bumpers up in this debacle, the team looking out for him couldn't even get the correct number of service members correct. It was four who died in Niger.

*applies tin-foil hat*

So is what they are saying is that they were willing to sweep Sgt. La David Johnson under the rug because they (at the time) couldn't recover his body? I can't believe that this could be the case because that is disgusting.

So much to process
Click to expand...

The original number was three dead, that later increased to four when they found another victim. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/world/africa/green-berets-niger-soldiers-killed.html

The draft was made on Oct. 5th and the article about the fourth soldier's body being found was on Oct. 6th.
 
Z

Zolo

Member
Pai Pai Master said:
Shocker: Trump supporters don't actually care. They only invoke the Bible, troops, flag, etc as a means to divert from actual issues that need resolving.
Click to expand...

The biggest thing I think is that conservatives can ignore news, but they want to watch football. It was always more about fragility and personal comfort than disrespect of soldiers.
 
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