No one seems to know why a statement written for Trump about Niger was never released


President Trump has been criticized for saying nothing following the deadly ambush earlier this month that killed four U.S. soldiers in Niger, but just one day after the attack, National Security Council staffers drafted a statement for Trump expressing his condolences, Politico reports. For some reason, it was never released.
On Wednesday, Politico saw a copy of the statement, which read in part: "Melania and I are heartbroken at the news that three U.S. service members were killed in Niger on Oct. 4 while providing guidance and assistance to Nigerien security force counter-terror operations. We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these brave American soldiers and patriots. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers." (After the statement was drafted, the body of a fourth soldier killed in the ambush was discovered.) An NSC staffer emailed the statement out at 10:01 a.m. on Oct. 5, and NSC and Pentagon officials read it, Politico reports, but it's unclear why the message was never released. When a Politico reporter called the NSC employee who wrote the statement to ask about it, that person hung up, and the council's spokesman declined to comment.
On Oct. 5, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the administration's "thoughts and prayers" were with the families of the fallen, but Trump remained mum until Monday, when a reporter asked him why he had been silent about the matter. Trump tried to deflect by falsely claiming that former President Barack Obama rarely if ever called the families of soldiers who had died, and the issue took on a new complexity on Tuesday, when a congresswoman accused Trump of making "insensitive" remarks to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, telling her Johnson knew what he was signing up for. Trump, on Twitter, suggested he hadn't said that.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Film reviews: The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Feature A despised mogul seeks a fresh triumph, orphaned siblings land with a nightmare foster mother, and a Jane fan finds herself in a love triangle
-
Music reviews: Tune-Yards and PinkPantheress
Feature "Better Dreaming" and "Fancy That"
-
Withdrawing 529 plan funds for college? Here's what to know.
the explainer Maximize the amount you have stashed away for your education
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs