Former White House photographer Pete Souza on Monday rejected President Trump’s claim that former President Barack Obama “didn’t often” call the family members of soldiers killed in action.
“The traditional way if you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn’t make calls. A lot of them didn’t make calls,” Trump told a gaggle of reporters in the Rose Garden Monday.
In response, Souza posted a picture of the former president and first lady Michelle Obama meeting the parents of a fallen soldier. He added that Obama awarded 52 Medal of Honor awards during his presidency.
The President and First Lady console Paul and Janet, parents of Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, who had just been awarded posthumously with the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan. This was the first of 52 Medals of Honor, the nations highest award for military valor, that President Obama bestowed during his two terms. I also photographed him meeting with hundreds of wounded soldiers, and family members of those killed in action.A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Oct 16, 2017 at 12:37pm PDT
“I also photographed him meeting with hundreds of wounded soldiers, and family members of those killed in action,” Souza explained.
Obama’s former deputy chief of staff for operations Alyssa Mastromonaco also rejected Trump’s claim by tweeting, “that’s a fucking lie.”
Souza is a frequent critic of Trump who uses pictures from his former position to speak out against the new administration.
