How Much Did That Soul Cost, General Kelly?
It was over hours ago and I’m still trying to wrap my brain and my heart around what happened in the White House briefing room today.
For those of you who have been eschewing social media and cable news as of late (and really, who can blame you), this morning General John Kelly — AKA Trump’s Chief of Staff, AKA — the guy who is supposed to be “the grown up” in the room — was trotted out in front of the White House Press Corps. This time he was there to educate reporters on what happens to the family of a fallen soldier who is killed while serving.
General Kelly has firsthand knowledge of this. His own son was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.
Today, after describing in detail what happens to the bodies of fallen soldiers when they are killed in the field, General Kelly went on to explain who Casualty Assistance Officers are and the important and incredibly difficult work they do.
That was hard but, ultimately, informative for those of us not well versed in military protocols or procedures.
If only that was where he had stopped. But no. This, after all, is the Trump administration. And when you serve in the Trump administration nothing is as important as making sure that Li’l Donnie never gets blamed or held accountable for anything. Ever.
General Kelly walked us through what his family went through after his son’s death…then took full responsibility for Trump totally bungling his call to the Johnson family. Kelly also insisted Trump’s lie about Presidential calls to military families wasn’t a lie at all:
“He asked me about previous Presidents, and I said, I can tell you that President Obama, who was my Commander-in-Chief when I was on active duty, did not call my family. That was not a criticism. That was just to simply say, I don’t believe President Obama called. That’s not a negative thing. I don’t believe President Bush called in all cases. I don’t believe any President, particularly when the casualty rates are very, very high — that Presidents call.”
This might be true. But it is not what Trump said:
“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. They have made the ultimate sacrifice.”
When General Kelly took the podium this morning, I figured we’d be treated to his variation of “look: Dude’s a doofus but he can’t help it.” That’s not what we got.
Not by a longshot.
After claiming responsibility for Trump’s statement Monday, General Kelly also claimed responsibility for Trump’s fumble of the call itself:
“Well, let me tell you what I told him. Let me tell you what my best friend, Joe Dunford, told me — because he was my casualty officer. He said, Kel, he was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. He knew what he was getting into by joining that 1 percent. He knew what the possibilities were because we’re at war. And when he died, in the four cases we’re talking about, Niger, and my son’s case in Afghanistan — when he died, he was surrounded by the best men on this Earth: his friends.
That’s what the President tried to say to four families the other day.”
Catch that? He knew what he was getting into.
So, clearly, Trump can’t be held responsible for such disrespect because he was merely quoting his Chief of Staff.
But lo, internet, it got worse.
After trying to walk back and take responsibility for Trump’s latest exercise in dumbassery, General Kelly went on to attack Rep Wilson for knowing about the call at all:
“It stuns me that a member of Congress would have listened in on that conversation…I thought at least that was sacred.”
First of all: are you fucking kidding? Really?
Second of all: Rep Wilson is a long time friend of the Johnson family and was in the car with the family — all of whom heard the call because the phone was on speaker.
Third of all: Seriously, are you fucking kidding??
No. He wasn’t.
He also wasn’t done.
General Kelly then went on to lament how women aren’t “sacred” anymore and how, during the dedication of a new Miami FBI headquarters:
“And a congresswoman stood up, [note: he doesn’t remember her name]and in the long tradition of empty barrels making the most noise, stood up there and all of that and talked about how she was instrumental in getting the funding for that building, and how she took care of her constituents because she got the money, and she just called up President Obama, and on that phone call he gave the money — the $20 million — to build the building. And she sat down, and we were stunned. Stunned that she had done it. Even for someone that is that empty a barrel, we were stunned.”
So, from the White House Chief of Staff: Women are empty barrels that make a lot of noise. But it’s a shame how we’re not “sacred” anymore.
The Congresswoman that General Kelly is talking about? Was, of course, Rep Wilson.
So far, nobody has been able to find any video of whatever remarks Rep Wilson made that day to prove General Kelly’s statement true or false. What we do know, however, is this:
- The building cost way more than $20M to build. It cost more than eight times that amount.
- Rep Wilson has been open about the fact that she had nothing to do with raising the funding for that building. It was in place before she got to Congress.
- Rep Wilson was instrumental in getting the building named after the Miami FBI agents who had lost their lives in the line of duty. She was so instrumental in getting that legislation passed that James Comey thanked her personally during his speech — the same speech that General Kelly praised.
Look at his language here, too. Compare it to everything else he said before that. Up until he starts talking about Rep Wilson, he’s calm. He’s giving facts and details.
When he starts talking about Rep Wilson, General Kelly grows vaguer and vaguer. He switches from facts to lamentations about how everything that made America good when he was growing up is gone now and finally he’s just barfing out this vicious attack on a grieving Congresswoman who has done nothing wrong.
After that it was difficult to keep paying attention. I was trying to wrap my brain around what I had just heard and not cry from the sheer horror of it all.
After reading the transcript though? I don’t feel too bad about it now because it turns out he didn’t say anything worth repeating…
Until just before leaving the room:
“We don’t look down upon those of you who that haven’t served. In fact, in a way we’re a little bit sorry because you’ll have never have experienced the wonderful joy you get in your heart when you do the kinds of things our service men and women do — not for any other reason than they love this country. So just think of that.”
Yeah. I’ll think of that while our current sitting President “serves” by using you as a willing and complicit talking prop to prevent him from taking an ounce of responsibility for his role in dismantling the country you claim to love so much.
Due respect? Go sit naked in a field of poison oak, sir.
