In searing new ad, father of Navy SEAL killed in Yemen accuses Trump of 'playing big man going to war'
A Gold Star father whose son was the first U.S. service member to die in combat under the Trump administration is urging people not to vote for President Trump this November, saying he cannot be trusted "with your kid's life or your own."
Bill Owens' son, Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens, was killed in January 2017, just days after Trump's inauguration. A 36-year-old married father of three, he was shot by al Qaeda militants during a raid in Yemen, a mission that later came under intense scrutiny.
In an ad for VoteVets released Thursday, Owens said Trump didn't order this raid "in the Situation Room with all the intelligence assembled, but sitting across a dinner table from Steve Bannon. There was no vital interest at play, just Donald Trump playing big man going to war." Since his son's death, Trump has "assailed our country's core values," Owens said, before accusing Trump of kneecapping the U.S. Postal Service to undermine voting and defending Russian President Vladimir Putin amid reports Russia put bounties on the heads of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
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.
Now, at least 180,000 people have died of coronavirus in the U.S., and Owens said that "200,000 Americans will have died before we vote. They and Ryan have one thing in common — it didn't have to be, but for Donald Trump. If you hear one thing, let it be this: Don't trust Donald Trump with your kid's life or your own." Catherine Garcia
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.
-
Farage’s £9m windfall: will it smooth his path to power?In Depth The record donation has come amidst rumours of collaboration with the Conservatives and allegations of racism in Farage's school days
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’
-
Codeword: December 13, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
