Trumps offends family of another fallen soldier, and this time a $25,000 check was involved

Another damaging story about Trump and a soldier's family.
 By 
Keith Wagstaff
 on 
Trumps offends family of another fallen soldier, and this time a $25,000 check was involved
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 29: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tax reform to the National Association of Manufacturers at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel September 29, 2017 in Washington, DC. Prior to his remarks on tax reform President Trump also spoke at length on the situation in Puerto Rico. (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images

After the mother of a fallen solider claimed President Donald Trump disrespected her family, the father of another solider says the commander-in-chief promised him $25,000 after his son died -- but he never got the money.

Chris Baldridge told The Washington Post that Trump called him a few weeks after his son, Army Cpl. Dillon Baldridge, died in Afghanistan in June.

"He said, 'I'm going to write you a check out of my personal account for $25,000,' and I was just floored. I could not believe he was saying that, and I wish I had it recorded because the man did say this. He said, ‘No other president has ever done something like this,’ but he said, ‘I’m going to do it.'"

The offer came after Baldridge reportedly said he could "barely rub two nickels together" while his ex-wife was set to collect money from the military’s survivor benefits program.

Baldridge got an apology letter from the White House, but that $25,000, however, never came.

On Wednesday, after the Post asked the White House about the call, it responded, "The check has been sent. It’s disgusting that the media is taking something that should be recognized as a generous and sincere gesture, made privately by the President, and using it to advance the media’s biased agenda."

Trump previously came under criticism after he claimed that former President Barack Obama didn't call the families of fallen soldiers -- which is not true. The Washington Post is calling the families of each service member who has died since Trump took office, after the president said he "called every family of somebody that’s died, and it’s the hardest call to make."

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Keith Wagstaff

Keith Wagstaff is an assistant editor at Mashable and a terrible Settlers of Catan player. He has written for TIME, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, NBC News, The Village Voice, VICE, GQ and New York Magazine, among many other reputable and not-so-reputable publications. After nearly a decade in New York City, he now lives in his native Los Angeles.

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