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Just when you think you've heard everything...
"Receipt collector-In-Chief" Omarosa Manigault-Newman has released a new audio tape of President Trump from her time in the White House, and to say it's shocking would be a bit of an understatement. In the tape, the President of the United States of America seems to make fun of the deaths of four US soldiers in combat in Niger last October.
Manigault-Newman recorded the tape about two weeks after the ambush on October 4, 2017, during a meeting with the communications team about the terrorist conflict in the African country.
In the tape, the President explains the ambush and then jokes, "I wouldn't, I don't think I'd want to be a terrorist right now. It's not a good life, but it's, uh, the only thing that — What else is there?" at which the assembled group and President Trump share a hearty laugh.
Speaking to MSNBC's Craig Melvin, Manigault-Newman called the issue, "not a laughing matter. We lost four American soldiers and four of our allies, the Nigerien troops that we were fighting alongside," adding that the incident shows how "unhinged and inappropriate" President Trump is.
Manigault-Newman also went on to put the tape in further context, noting that in the immediate aftermath of the ambush, Trump treated the death of one of the soldiers, La David Johnson, in such a way that can only be described as cavalier, telling his widow Myeshia Johnson that her husband, "knew what he signed up for," a comment that deeply upset her.
"[I]t made me cry because I was very angry at the tone in his voice and how he said it."
Johnson also told ABC's "Good Morning America" at the time that the President, "couldn't remember my husband's name. I heard him stumbling on trying to remember my husband's name."
As you might expect, social media reactions ranged from outrage:
...and laughs. About US troops being killed in an ambush. Laughs. https://t.co/GUT120W0kc— ryangielen (@ryangielen)1536625455.0
How COLD.After the Chicken Shit was too Cowardly to Sign up for ANYTHING..😉 https://t.co/uZXazKsq7z— Kathy Lunbery (@Kathy Lunbery)1536681674.0
Omarosa released a tape today of Trump making a joke to his staff about American soldiers getting killed in Niger.… https://t.co/N8bXsAhcFN— Barbara Santana (@Barbara Santana)1536679802.0
@thehill so Trump joked about Americans dying - Republicans do that kind of thing— Jeff Abelson (@Jeff Abelson)1536677026.0
@dmock70 @atrupar The laughter was deeply disturbing, who laughs at that ??— FightFireWithFire (@FightFireWithFire)1536622971.0
@atrupar Spoken like someone who doesn’t know what the heck he’s doing. Or saying.— iamlinda ⌘ (@iamlinda ⌘)1536605279.0
@NatTremb_ @atrupar We need to stop putting the responsibility on people with no authority. Our representatives hav… https://t.co/SuMsoctfuO— Lisa Toppin (@Lisa Toppin)1536682567.0
@atrupar Trump’s ‘respect for the military’ on full display.— The Duke Of URL (@The Duke Of URL)1536626750.0
While others couldn't help but see parallels with another military ambush that sparked Republican outrage:
@thehill 4 soldiers died in that attack. And the GOP kind of ignored it. As I remember, in another attack that led… https://t.co/UiAoTkq6zD— Timothy Collins (@Timothy Collins)1536677205.0
Hey GOP controlled congress - any chance we can get a hearing (or two??) on the Niger ambush that left 4 American s… https://t.co/mpxUI1E2QN— LikeTheMoon🌙 (@LikeTheMoon🌙)1536684024.0
@atrupar Why isn’t Congress investigating this?— D Villella ❄️ (@D Villella ❄️)1536603279.0
@atrupar Your MAGA hat-wearing HS friend’s karmic punishment for sending you every wild-eyed Benghazi conspiracy th… https://t.co/YLQr7fB2G1— Kevin Kevin Bo-Bevin Banana Fana Fo Fevin (@Kevin Kevin Bo-Bevin Banana Fana Fo Fevin)1536615030.0
@atrupar I fully expect the @GOP and “Mr Benghazi” Trey Gowdy to launch a full investigation into these 4 troops— Sample of 1 (@Sample of 1)1536628525.0
But investigation seems to be the furthest thing from anyone's minds if the tapes are any indication. Once the discussion of Niger is finished, the President pivots to what seems to be his favorite topic--Hillary Clinton--saying she is "getting killed now with Russia" and the "real Russia story is Hillary and collusion."
Some things just never change.