The Atlantic

Why Trump Accused Obama of Not Consoling Families of Fallen Soldiers

The president touched off a brief firestorm with the unfounded charge, but real answers about why four service members were killed in Niger remain elusive.
Source: Yuri Gripas / Reuters

On October 4, four American Special Forces soldiers were killed during an operation in Niger. Since then, the White House has been notably tight-lipped about the incident. During a press conference Monday afternoon, 12 days after the deaths, President Trump finally made his first public comments, but the remarks—in which he admitted he had not yet spoken with the families and briefly attacked Barack Obama—did little to clarify what happened or why the soldiers were in Niger.

Trump spoke at the White House after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and was asked why he hadn’t spoken about deaths of Sergeant La David Johnson and

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