Amid controversy surrounding Trump’s interaction with one Gold Star family, another widow shared her uplifting phone call with the President.
Natasha De Alencar, who tragically lost her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Mark R. De Alencar, during his deployment back in early April, released audio footage of the condolence conversation.
‘I am so sorry to hear about the whole situation. What a, what a horrible thing – except that he’s an unbelievable hero. You know, all of the people that served with him are saying how incredible he was,’ Trump told Natasha during the exchange.
‘Everyone tells me how great he was,’ Trump shared. ‘He was the boss … He was their friend. They all loved him.’
Natasha De Alencar (left) who tragically lost her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Mark R. De Alencar (right) during his deployment in April
Natasha released her uplifting phone call with the President, who calls the late soldier a ‘boss’ and a ‘friend’ who was admired by many
‘You know, all of the people that served with him are saying how incredible he was,’ Trump told Natasha during the exchange
Natasha replied: I’m glad that you got to hear a little bit about him, sir. My husband is, to me, he was already my hero. We’ve been together 15 years, five children.’
When the mother of five began discussing into detail the successes of her children, the President inquired further, asking about her eldest son’s scholarship and his experience playing football for Missouri Valley College.
The conversation also led to the commander-in-chief offering Natasha an invitation to the Oval Office.
The seemingly pleasant interaction was filmed by one of Natasha’s children, while Trump told the widowed mother to tell the kids in the room that ‘their father was a great hero’ who he ‘respected’.
When the mother of five began discussing into detail the successes of her children, and the President inquired further
The conversation also led to the commander-in-chief offering Natasha an invitation to the Oval Office
Natasha was informed her husband died on April 10 – two days after Mark lost his life
The late Sgt. Mark, a member of the 7th Special Forces Group, died during a firefight with Islamic State fighters, according to The Washington Post, who spoke with Mark’s heartbroken wife Natasha.
Natasha was informed of the heart-wrenching news on April 10 – two days after her husband lost his life.
‘My husband was truly one of those people who would give you the shirt off of his back and he would look out for you before himself,’ Natasha said in the phone interview.
On Thursday, White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, defended Trump after he received criticism from Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, who listened in on another one of the President’s phone calls with a Gold Star family.
‘My husband was truly one of those people who would give you the shirt off of his back and he would look out for you before himself,’ Natasha said
The late Sgt. Mark, a member of the 7th Special Forces Group, died during a firefight with Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan
‘My husband is, to me, he was already my hero. We’ve been together 15 years, five children,’ Natasha said in the phone call
Wilson accused the President of making ‘insensitive’ remarks during the condolence call.
Kelly, who lost his own son in Afghanistan back in 2010, appeared somber while speaking on the matter at a press conference.
‘It stuns me that a Member of Congress would have listened in on that conversation. Absolutely stuns me. I though at least that was sacred,’ Kelly said in the statement.
Kelly, a retired United States Marine Corps general, found himself the topic of discussion previously when Trump fired back at Barack Obama during an interview saying he failed to contact Kelly when his son, Robert, passed away.
‘As far as other presidents, I don’t know, you could ask Gen. Kelly, did he get a call from Obama? I don’t know what Obama’s policy was,’ Trump said in an interview with Fox news personality Brian Kilmeade.
At Thursday’s press conference, Kelly admitted the statement was true – but he did not consider it an insult.
‘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 that I don’t believe President Obama called. That’s not a negative thing,’ Kelly said