Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

REPORT: Gold Star Families Haven't Heard From Trump

REPORT: Gold Star Families Haven't Heard From Trump

The news for the past several days has been filled with Trump's claims that many of his predecessors, including Barack Obama, failed to contact the families of soldiers killed in action, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.


This week has since seen allegations that Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson overheard Trump telling the wife of Sgt. La David Johnson, a fallen soldier killed in the recent ambush in Niger, that "he knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens, it hurts anyway." Wilson also claims that Trump didn't know Johnson's name, and that his Johnson's widow "broke down" immediately after the call.

Trump has fiercely denied the claims, both on Twitter and during a meeting in the Cabinet Room, saying, "I didn't say what that congresswoman said. Didn't say it at all. She knows it. And she now is not saying it. I did not say what she said."

Trump also claimed to have "proof" that Wilson was lying:

No proof has been brought forth by Trump, and Cowanda Jones-Johnson, a family member of Sgt. Johnson, corroborated Wilson's versions of events as "very accurate," as she was in the car at the time of the call.

Another news story about Trump promising the family of fallen soldier Army Sgt. Dillon Baldridge, who was killed in Afghanistan, a check for $25,000 after they spoke over the summer made waves this weeks. The family claimed that they never got the check. Soon after, the White House confirmed that "the check has been sent."

But now, the AP has published a report alleging that Trump's claims of calling all of these Gold Star families are completely false.

The report says: "The Associated Press tried to reach the families of all 43 people who have died in military service since Trump became president and made contact with about 20 families. More than half said they had not heard from Trump."

In one instance, the family of U.S. Army Specialist Isiah Booker didn't expect a call, since Booker was killed in an accident in Syria in early January, and not in combat. They did, however, receive a letter of condolence from both Obama and Trump. But no calls. When asked if the family would have wanted a call from Trump, Booker's mother, Chereisa Booker, told the AP "not really."

But that isn't the case for Sheila Murphy, whose son, Army Spc. Etienne J. Murphy, was killed when the armored vehicle he was riding in rolled over on May 26 in Syria. Murphy is still waiting to hear from Trump. "Because it was noncombat, I feel like maybe he thought it was an accident, it doesn’t matter," she said. "But my son was in Syria."

Murphy reached out to Trump six weeks ago, expressing her grief and desire for a letter, but has heard nothing back.

Many on Twitter are outraged by the report, for multiple reasons:

But, sadly, it's what we've come to expect from the Trump administration:

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

H/T: Associated Press, CNN, Twitter

More from People

Screenshot of Donald Trump
@atrupar/X

Trump Dragged After Making Ridiculous Claim About Randomly Finding Billions On The 'Tariff Shelf'

President Donald Trump was criticized after he claimed to reporters this week that officials in his administration suddenly found $30 billion they "never knew existed"—located on what Trump referred to as the "tariff shelf."

Tariffs are a tax on imported goods, usually calculated as a percentage of the purchase price. While tariffs can shield domestic manufacturers by making foreign products more expensive, they are also used as a tool to penalize countries engaged in unfair trade practices, such as government subsidies or dumping goods below market value.

Keep ReadingShow less
food prep
Katie Smith on Unsplash

Professional Chefs Share The Top Mistakes Average Home Cooks Make

With the expansion of cable television and then streaming services, a number of competition shows featuring amateur home cooks. Shows like Master Chef and The Great British Bake Off garnered huge followings and spawned numerous global and domestic spin-offs.

The food produced by these amateurs is beyond the talents of even some professional chefs. But what about the average home cook? What can they learn from the professionals?

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

RFK Jr.'s HHS Blasted As CDC Panel Considers Dropping Life-Saving Hepatitis B Vaccine For Newborns

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), met Thursday for the first of two days of discussions about childhood vaccine schedules and recommendations.

The panel focused on the hepatitis B vaccine and plans to vote on Friday whether to continue recommending it be given to all children at birth or to recommend something entirely different. The panel previously tabled making a decision on infant and early childhood hep-B vaccination in September.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @monicasanluiss's TikTok video
@monicasanluiss/TikTok

Bride's Friends Surprise Her With Montage Video Of All Her Exes At Bachelorette Party—And People Are Mortified

While Jenny Han's novel To All the Boys I've Loved Before was a major hit, and even became a great film success in 2018, not everyone's married to the idea of reconnecting with their exes after the relationships end.

It might be nice to imagine staying friends after the relationships, imagining our exes missing us or regretting losing us, or even giving us an apology for the things they did wrong. But most of us pine for this for a little while, realize it's all a fairy tale, and push past it to better things and new love.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @alexamcnee's TikTok video
@alexamcnee/TikTok

TikToker Sparks Debate After Calling Out Driver's Extremely Bright Headlights For Blinding Her

Whether we are drivers or passengers, we've all experienced that annoying, possibly painful moment of feeling like we're being blinded by a fellow driver whose headlights are far too bright for a standard car on a standard road.

But while most of us complain about it to ourselves and leave it at that, TikToker Alexa McNee stepped up for all of us and called it out.

Keep ReadingShow less