by
John Stevenson
The January 29 U.S. Navy SEAL operation in Yemen went
awry when the SEALs lost the element of surprise. Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens was
killed in the ensuing battle. In his
February 28 address to a joint session of Congress, President Trump honored
Ryan and his widow, Carryn.
Trump said: “…the
Bible teaches us there is no greater act of love than to lay down one’s life
for one’s friends. Ryan laid down his life for his friends, for his country,
and for our freedom---we will never forget him…Ryan’s legacy is etched into
eternity.” The wall-to-wall standing
ovation lasted for what seemed an eternity.
Trump’s gesture was widely acclaimed by commentators
across the political spectrum. You can’t
get to the Left of CNN’s Van Jones, whose praise was effusive: “He became
President of the United States in that moment, period…That was one of the most
extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics, period.” Jones continued: “He did something extraordinary.
For people who have been hoping that he would become unifying…they should be
happy with that moment.” And Jones even
suggested “…if he finds a way to do that over and over again, he’s going to be
there for eight years.”
Paying tribute to heroes and their families in
presidential speeches is not new. A few
examples: President Obama did it with a
severely wounded Army Ranger, Cory Remsburg.
President Bush (the younger) acknowledged the widow of Johnny “Mike”
Spann, the first American death in Afghanistan.
President Clinton acknowledged the widows of police officers killed in
the U.S. Capitol shooting incident in 1998.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that such tributes have
become common practice, and despite the fact that Trump’s gesture has drawn
praise from Republicans and Democrats alike, not everyone was delighted. Some examples from the fringe:
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews called it “grotesque.” Bill Maher said “I wish she hadn’t allowed
herself to be used as a prop.” Activist and director Rob Reiner called it
“disgraceful.” One of the ladies of “The
View” said “He [Trump] exploited that widow’” and another “hated it last
night.” And of course Michael Moore heavily
weighed in, saying that Trump used Carryn’s loss to score political
points: “And to use that as, just put
another notch on his belt.”
But worse was yet to come. At least Moore, Matthews, Reiner, and the
ladies of “The View” were criticizing Trump---and Carryn only
tangentially. Dan Grilo came right out and
insulted Carryn herself. Grilo is a
self-confessed volunteer for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. He tweeted: “Sorry, Owens’ wife, you’re not
helping yourself or your husband’s memory by standing there and clapping like
an idiot. Trump just used you.”
Grilo apologized for his “poorly worded tweet.” Grilo’s Twitter account was soon deleted, and
he was promptly sacked by his employer Liberty Advisor Group. Liberty posted an apology and explanation on
its web site, which concludes:
“Liberty’s culture places a high value on the men and women of America’s
military who fight to defend us…We honor them. We want to express our sincere
condolences to Mrs. Owens. We also apologize to all those who have served this
nation…and anyone else who was offended by [Grilo’s] comments.” Perhaps he’ll show up as a commentator on CNN
or MSNBC.
Certainly there are others that shared such hatred of
Trump’s tribute to the Owens but fortunately had the common sense or common
decency to skip the opportunity to attack the gesture.
Taya Kyle, widow of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle,
commented on Moore and his ilk who had insinuated that the tribute was a
publicity stunt. She said the classless
response “…makes me sick to my stomach…makes me angry because he’s saying that
she’s a fool and doesn’t know she’s being used…” And: “It totally negates the meaning behind
this. And the meaning of it---for all the people watching who cried with
[Carryn]---is that some valiant people are out there fighting, not for
Republicans, not for Democrats. They’re fighting for this country. And God
bless them for it.”
