Kelly tries to rescue Trump

I think we've got to the point in President Trump's administration when pretty well anything he says or does is going to be massively criticised in the media. His telephone conversation with the widow of one of the four Green Beret commandos killed by militants in the West African country of Niger while on a training mission sounds somewhat cackhanded. To tell a grieving widow that her husband knew what he signed up for when he joined the elite special forces unit is not the most sympathising comment he could have made. But I cannot believe for one moment that Trump actually meant to insult her. As a multi-millionaire businessman, I assume he has never had to ring a family before to pass on his condolences for the loss of a spouse, son or daughter. So, now as president, he clearly has not grasped the importance of finding the right words to soothe a woman in tears. I'm sure he meant well, he just didn't perform his consoling duties in the right way. If it hadn't been for the nosey congresswoman listening in in her car outside, none of this would have been made public. But she started haranguing Trump and suddenly it was the main story on the front page of every newspaper. Then the grieving widow was forced to acknowledge that she had been upset by Trump's comments. The trouble is Trump then came out and denied he had said anything insulting and claimed the congresswoman's statement was a total fabrication. This was backed up in an extraordinary intervention by General John Kelly, Trump's chief of staff, who said Obama had never rung him when his son was killed while serving in Afghanistan. Very loyal of Kelly I'm sure but it hasn't really helped. The point is, Trump did his best but his best, as we have all come to realise, is not often very satisfactory. But the wailing and cries in the newspapers have been overwhelmingly over the top. The poor widow needs to be left alone to grieve. Having the president of the United States ringing up to do his duty as the commander-in-chief is only going to help if he knows exactly what to say, not from some prepared White House script but from the heart. This Trump clearly failed to do.