White House Chief of Staff Kelly (pictured) tries to shift attention from Trump’s “your guy” remarks

Developments on Day 273 of the Trump Administration:

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Kelly Verifies Trump Call to Widow But Puts Blame on Congresswoman

Chief of Staff John Kelly tries to rescue Donald Trump from the upset over Trump’s belated and controversial response to the killing of four US Green Berets in Niger more than two weeks ago.

After saying nothing for 12 days of the deaths on October 4, Trump responded on Monday to a question about his silence by trying to pin blame on Barack Obama, falsely accusing his predecessor of never meeting or calling the families of fallen troops. He also said that he would be writing and calling the relatives of the four Green Berets.

However, the move backfired when Congresswoman Federica Wilson of Florida described Trump’s attempted condolences to Myeshia Johnson, the wife of La David T. Johnson. Wilson, a family friend who was in the room when Johnson took the call, said Trump told the widow that her husband “knew what he signed up for” and referred to the soldier only as “your guy”.

Trump lashed out at Wilson on Twitter but Johnson’s mother confirmed the episode. Other families of slain soldiers said Trump had never contacted them, and one spoke of a Trump pledge of a $25,000 check that was never fulfilled.

See TrumpWatch, Day 272: Furor Escalates Over Trump “Disrespect” for Slain Soldiers

Kelly, a retired general whose son was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010, was pulled into the controversy when Trump falsely accused Obama of never speaking with the Kelly family. The Chief of Staff has avoided public references to his son’s death, although he and his wife sat at First Lady Michelle Obama’s table during a White House dinner for Gold Star families in May 2011.

But Kelly came to Trump’s defense on Thursday in an emotional statement in an ad hoc press briefing.

The Chief of Staff effectively pushed aside Trump’s denials over the phone call, confirming that the President had spoken with Myeshia Johnson and not refuting the account of the conversation. But he tried to turn attention to Congresswoman Wilson, saying he was “brokenhearted” by her criticism.

Kelly also said that he advised Trump on what to say before he called the families of the four Green Berets, encouraging Trump to echo the condolences Gen. Joseph Dunford — now the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — when Kelly’s son was killed.

Kelly did not say if Trump successfully followed the advice, but the Chief of Staff tried to reframe Trump’s remark that Sergeant La David T. Johnson “knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurt” by relaying Dunford’s remarks in 2010:

He was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. He knew what he was getting into by joining that 1%. He knew what the possibilities were because we were at war. And when he died he was surrounded by the best men on this earth, his friends. That’s what the President tried to say to the four families the other day.

Kelly said Wilson was “selfish” in speaking about Trump’s call to Myeshia Johnson, saying the Congresswoman had “eroded a great deal” the sacrifice of men and women in uniform: “Let’s not let this maybe last thing that is held sacred in our society, a young man, a young woman going out and giving his or her life for our country, let’s try to somehow keep that sacred.”