Donald Trump Golfed As Body Of Soldier Killed In Niger ISIS Attack Returned Home — Called ‘Trump’s Benghazi’
Donald Trump is coming under fire this week after a CNN report revealed that as the body of a United States Green Beret soldier killed in an ISIS ambush was returned to U.S. soil last weekend, Trump was playing golf. Nearly two weeks after the deadly ambush in the African country of Niger, Trump acknowledged the four American soldiers who died in the ISIS attack for the first time, saying in a Rose Garden press conference that he would “at some point during the period of time call the parents.”
But in the same press conference, Trump claimed incorrectly that President Barack Obama did not call families of slain U.S. military personnel.
“If you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them, didn’t make calls, a lot of them didn’t make calls, I like to call when it’s appropriate, when I think I’m able to do it,” Trump said.
Former Obama aide Alyssa Mastromonaco quickly responded to Trump’s false claim, calling it “a f****** lie.”
CNN reported that the body of Army Sergeant La David Johnson, killed by enemy fire as more than 50 ISIS fighters rained bullets and rockets on a convoy of pickup trucks occupied by U.S. troops near the Niger-Mali border on October 4, arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday, October 7.
Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 25
Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39
Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29
Sgt. La David T. Johnson, 25#SayTheirNames pic.twitter.com/uqvH38bkKj— Lauren Werner (@LaurenWern) October 12, 2017
Trump spent about four and a half hours on the day that Johnson’s body arrived on U.S. soil at Trump National Golf Club — a course that he, himself, owns — in Potomac, Virginia, according to a database of Trump’s golf outings since his inauguration. Trump played a round of golf at the club on October 7.
The other three troops killed in the attack have been identified as Bryan Black, Dustin Wright, and Jeremiah Johnson, all of whom held the rank of Staff Sergeant with the Third Special Forces Group (Airborne) based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
About 800 U.S. troops are stationed in Niger as part of the continuing fight against ISIS and other militant terror groups which are now known to operate in the landlocked country in the northwest of Africa. Another 300 troops are now in Cameroon, a country to the south of Niger.
Trump did not make any public comment about the troops killed in Niger until October 16. The president did not attend the return of Johnson’s body, nor did he attend the return of Wright’s body to Dover on October 5. The image at the top of this page shows soldiers carrying Wright’s casket as it arrived at Dover.
Watch video of Trump’s Rose Garden remarks about the fallen troops in the video below.
Trump, falsely, claims President Obama and other former President didn't make calls to bereaved families of service members who died. pic.twitter.com/FqWbxdkdFD
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 16, 2017
On October 5, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders acknowledged the raid that killed the four soldiers, saying that “our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the fallen service members who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of the freedoms we hold so dear.” Sanders added that the administration was “continuing to look into” possible military action in response to the ambush.
According to a CNN account piecing together details of the ambush, the U.S. failed to anticipate the danger facing the troops, who were armed only with rifles and were traveling in unarmed pickup trucks.
The American soldiers fought a fierce battle with the ISIS militants that lasted 30 minutes, according to the reports, but the U.S. had no rescue or reinforcement operations ready to go. The troops were finally evacuated by French military helicopters after about an hour. Johnson’s body was not recovered for 48 hours after the attack.
The U.S. troops are present in Niger “to provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien Armed Forces, including support for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance efforts, in their efforts to target violent extremist organizations in the region,” according to a statement by the U.S. Africa Command.
Critics have termed the Niger raid “Trump’s Benghazi,” a reference to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans. Republicans held multiple congressional investigations into the Benghazi attack and accused both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of somehow knowing about the attack in advance but doing nothing to stop it or crafting a “political” narrative to explain away the attack after the fact — allegations for which no evidence was ever produced.
When the remains of 4 soldiers ambushed in Benghazi returned home, both Obama and Clinton were there.
When the remains of 4 soldiers ambushed in Niger returned, Trump was golfing. pic.twitter.com/h0rUOX41uy
— Nunca Trump (@NeverTrumpTexan) October 15, 2017
Critics also noted that both Obama and Clinton were on hand to meet the returning bodies of the Americans slain in the Benghazi attack and delivered remarks honoring the fallen Americans. Meanwhile, Trump golfed as the body of an American soldier returned home and made no public comments about the soldiers who lost their lives until 12 days after they were killed.
[Featured Image by Staff Sgt. Aaron J. Jenne, U.S. Air Force/AP Images]
