Trump invites families of 2 National Guard members who were shot to White House
Dec. 1 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said he has invited the families of two National Guard members who were shot last week to the White House.
Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, said he has spoken with the Guardsmen’s families and extended them a formal invitation.
“I have spoken to both families,” he said. “They’re devastated.”
U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, both National Guard members from West Virginia, were shot while patrolling Wednesday in support of Trump’s crime and immigration crackdown in Washington, D.C.
Beckstrom died from her injuries Thursday, and Wolfe was in critical condition.
Trump told reporters Wolfe was “fighting for his life.”
He said he extended the invitation to the victims’ families to visit the White House “when you’re ready.”
“We’re going to honor Sarah,” he said. “And likewise with Andrew, recover or not, we’re going to honor him.”
Trump described Wolfe’s parents as “great” and “highly religious people.”
“And they are praying, and they want everyone to pray for Andrew, and he has a chance to make it,” he said.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who U.S. officials say worked with the CIA to track down high-value Taliban targets in his native country, is accused of being the shooter.
Trump has referred to Lakanwal as an “animal” and blames the previous Biden administration for allowing him to enter the United States.
Following the shooting, Trump said he would order an indefinite pause on migration from all “third-world countries,” a Cold War-era term that is largely considered outdated to refer to low- and middle-income countries.
On Friday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told its staff that it will pause all applications for asylum filed by immigrants within the United States.