President Donald Trump went wildly off script in a call with U.S. military service members conducted during his Thanksgiving holiday at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump, 79, bluntly broke the news of the death of Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, the National Guard member who was shot near Farragut Square Metro Station in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, on a Thanksgiving call with members of six U.S. military units deployed around the globe.
“She’s just passed away,” Trump said of the 20-year-old. “She’s no longer with her. She’s looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her. It’s just happened. She was savagely attacked. She’s dead.”
Trump, who avoided the military draft five times, then personally addressed some of the service members on the call.
“I just want to thank you so much, incredible people,” the president said. “You make this sacrifice like few others understand. A lot of them don’t even understand it. And you’re keeping America safe and free. Our military is strong.”
While thanking the 101st Airborne Division, nicknamed the “Screaming Eagles,” for protecting the U.S. border, Trump soon managed to merge his speech with his personal grievances.
“We have nobody coming in,” Trump said of illegal border crossings. “They’re not coming in. Under [Joe] Biden, they were coming in by their millions. Now we have nobody coming in. We have a strong border. Nobody talks about it anymore. I’m not given credit for anything, just like you guys are not given credit for anything.”
He continued, “We do the greatest job, but that’s alright. They don’t talk about the border anymore because you know why? Nobody comes in.”
After blaming “people on the left” for not reporting on his strict border policy, Trump admitted that “even I find it hard to believe” his own claim of zero border arrivals. “I hope people appreciate the job that you’ve done, and the job that we’ve all done.”
Trump once again called out former President Joe Biden’s immigration policy. The suspected D.C. shooter, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan man living in Washington.
He allegedly fled to the U.S. during the Taliban takeover of his homeland in 2021. CNN reported that he had “applied for asylum in 2024, and it was granted by the Trump administration in April 2025.”
Trump said the suspect was “flown here” by Biden’s “bad” administration.
“This atrocity reminds us that we have no greater national security priority than ensuring that we have full control over the people that enter and remain in our country,” Trump said on Thursday. “For the most part, we don’t want them. They come in illegally. They have a lot of problems.”
Trump conducted a press conference after his call to service members, despite complaining he was being kept from his Thanksgiving dinner.
“You probably had your dinner already, but I didn’t,” he said. “And I don’t know exactly what I’m going to have. Turkey, OK? I believe it’s turkey.”
The president was asked about plans to play golf with Biden, suggesting that his day job gets in the way of his hobby.
“I’d love to,” Trump said. “I mean, I’ve invited him, but he doesn’t want to show up. Look, I know a lot about golf. I’ve won 38 club championships, and I don’t get to practice much.”
Trump then repeated his story about beating a 27-year-old golfer last year, and claimed he has a “very low” handicap in the game.
“I’ve won 38 of them, legitimately. Every one legitimately,” he insisted, despite persistent claims of cheating during games.
“It has to be legitimate, because you have a lot of people following you during club championships,” Trump said.
“I’ve got to be right around scratch or better… For those that don’t know, in the finals of the club championship last year, with all I was going through, and with no practice, so, I’m a good golfer. You know, I would have to say that. I want to be honest. I have to be honest.”
The post Trump, 79, Turns National Guard Death News Into Selfish Rant appeared first on The Daily Beast.
