Kelly Defends How Trump Handled Call to Slain Soldier’s Family

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who lost a son in combat, gave an emotional defense of how President Donald Trump handled a call to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger and assailed a Democratic congresswoman for listening in and disclosing the conversation.

Kelly, speaking in very personal terms at Thursday’s White House briefing, said he initially had recommended that Trump not call families of fallen soldiers since “it’s not the phone call that parents, family members are looking forward to.”