By Amanda RomeoStaff Writer
It feels like the public has been hearing nonstop how disrespectful Donald Trump is to military families. But where is the real story? What are the real facts? As I looked through countless articles bashing our president over what seems should certainly be a private matter, I had a very hard time deciphering fact from fiction.
In addition to making a public scrutiny out of what must be a very tough time for the families of these fallen soldiers, I find that very few reporters, if any, are writing the straightforward facts about what happened. If I had to guess why, I would say it is probably because not very much happened at all.
The fiasco started when the press began inquiring why Trump had not yet commended the deaths of four soldiers in Niger. Because President Trump is President Trump, he then allegedly made a claim that President Barack Obama never called the families of those who died in the military. Depending on where you get your information, you can take this or leave this as fake news, which the president now claims it is.
I read articles on the subject from NPR, The Chicago Tribune, Fox News and TIME, and I am disgusted. The publications of these heavily biased reports are defacing on what should have always been a solemn and private matter. The production being made out of the incident is much more disgusting and offensive than anything I can imagine Trump may have said on the phone.
According to Fox News, the Associated Press made attempts to reach all of the families of each of the 43 soldiers who have passed since Trump became president.
What I am wondering is – is this customary? Do they do this with every presidency? And most importantly, are they that desperate for a story that they need to intrude into the lives of mourning families?
As with most of the biased reports attempting to malign the presidency, inference is necessary in order to piece together this story. What seems to be true is that the information about the Myeshia Johnson phone call came from Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson. This congresswoman overheard the private phone call from Trump to Johnson and assumed it her place to report the matter to The Washington Post. No matter which way you look at it, the phone call was private and should have remained so. This congresswoman pulled a vile and immoral move in order to get press. My heart goes out to Johnson and her family – who are now facing public scrutiny while mid-mourning.
While I am the last person to ever advocate for President Trump, I must state where I think the issue really lies. The real problem in this situation is scummy people looking to write and report about anything that will stir the pot.
When we read things like this, we need to keep our personal opinion to the side and ask ourselves – should this really be two weeks worth of news? Is this what these soldiers would want their families to be dealing with right now?
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