Claim: When U.S. President Donald Trump was asked what he'd say to people who lost family members to COVID-19, he replied, "I would say this didn't hurt anyone as much as it hurt me.
Verdict: REFUTES

Retrieved passages:
title: Leslie Coffelt
text: won't let me go walking or even cross the street on foot. I say 'they' won't, but it causes them so much anguish that I conform ... But I want no more guards killed. - Letter from Truman to his cousin, Ethel Noland, dated November 17, 1950 Coffelt's widow, Cressie E. Coffelt, was later asked by the President and the Secretary of State to go to Puerto Rico, to accept the condolences and expressions of sorrow for her husband's death from various Puerto Rican leaders and crowds. Mrs. Coffelt made a speech acknowledging that the island's people were not responsible

title: Foreign policy of Donald Trump (2015-2016)
text: limitations were "probably a political decision" rather than based upon military advice. Trump is in favor of sending terrorist suspects to Guantanamo Bay. Trump has said he would like to "load it up with bad dudes." In an interview, Trump stated "You have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. ... When they say they don't care about their lives, you have to take out their families." When pressed on what "take out" meant, Trump said the United States should "wipe out their homes" and "where they came from." The

title: Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign
text: she was too emotional to speak.) When Trump was asked what he had sacrificed for his country, he told Stephanopoulos, "I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I've had tremendous success. I think I've done a lot." Trump also cited his work on behalf of veterans, including helping build a Vietnam War memorial in Manhattan and raising "millions of dollars" for veterans. Trump's comments touched off a firestorm of controversy by appearing to belittle the Khans, with public officials

title: Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign
text: it. I said that is a strong, powerful government that put it down with strength. And then they kept down the riot. It was a horrible thing. It doesn't mean at all I was endorsing it." At a July 5 campaign rally, Trump again raised controversy by praising Saddam Hussein for being good at killing terrorists, saying Hussein was "a really bad guy" but "you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists. It was over." "The New York Times" said that Trump's

title: Sutherland Springs church shooting
text: immigrants, Trump said that this would have made "no difference". He said that stricter gun control measures might have prevented Stephen Willeford from shooting Kelley, and commented, "Instead of having 26 dead, he would've had hundreds more dead." After the shooting, Trump issued a presidential proclamation honoring the victims and ordered the United States flag at half-staff at the White House and all public and military sites until the sunset of November 9. Willeford was called a hero for what he did. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that the shooting "will be a long, suffering mourning for those in pain".

title: Tongo Tongo ambush
text: response drew criticism from commentators and the press. On 17 October, during a press conference, Trump was asked about his silence by a reporter and commented on the incident. Trump responded by saying that he wrote letters to the families of the victims, but falsely accused his predecessors, specifically President Obama, of not or rarely calling the families of deceased soldiers. On 16 October, Trump called the widow of La David Johnson. Representative Frederica Wilson, who was present during the call, alleged that Trump told the widow that La David Johnson "knew what he signed up for" and only referred

title: Foreign policy of Donald Trump (2015-2016)
text: "it's very possible that we should use NATO" to fight ISIL. In an interview, Trump stated "You have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. ... When they say they don't care about their lives, you have to take out their families." When pressed on what "take out" meant, Trump said the U.S. should "wipe out their homes" and "where they came from." The intentional targeting of non-combatants is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and other aspects of the international law of war. Jonathan Russell, head of policy for

title: Tongo Tongo ambush
text: car and I heard the full conversation". Jones-Johnson said, "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband". On the same day, Arnold Wright said that Trump was respectful when he called with his condolences, "He talked to me about the loss of my son and how he served with honor and dignity and he just wanted to give me a call to thank me". On 23 October, Myeshia Johnson said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that Wilson's account of the call with Trump was "100 percent correct" and that the call "made [her]

title: Donald Trump Jr.
text: Lee Zeldin and Matt Gaetz. During his father's presidential campaign, Trump Jr. caused controversy in 2016 when he posted an image that compared refugees to Skittles, saying "If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem." The makers of Skittles condemned the tweet, saying "Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don't feel it's an appropriate analogy." The Cato Institute reported that year that the chances that "an American would be killed in a terrorist attack committed by a refugee was 1 in

title: Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign
text: and commentators from all sides of the political spectrum arguing that he should show more respect to the parents of a fallen soldier. A Fox News poll found that 69 percent of respondents who were familiar with Trump's comments, including 41 percent of Republicans, felt that Trump's response was "out of bounds". The Khan controversy, along with Trump's initial refusal to endorse Speaker of the House Paul Ryan for re-election, contributed to significant drops in Trump's poll numbers that week. Trump responded to the criticism on Twitter, stating that Khazir Khan "viciously attacked me" and tweeting: "This story is not

title: Otto Warmbier
text: for their actions. President Trump issued a statement regarding Warmbier's death: "There is nothing more tragic for a parent than to lose a child in the prime of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with Otto's family and friends, and all who loved him." Others criticized Warmbier. North Korean officials said their country was the "biggest victim" from his death as a result of a "smear campaign," stating their treatment of him was "humanitarian." A spokesman added: At the request of Warmbier's family, an autopsy was not performed, and only a postmortem external examination was conducted. Doctors speculated that the

title: Political positions of Donald Trump
text: is single payer. In 2014, after a New York physician returned from treating Ebola patients in West Africa and showed symptoms of the disease, Trump tweeted that if the doctor had Ebola, "Obama should apologize to the American people & resign!" When the doctor was later confirmed to have developed Ebola in New York, Trump tweeted that it was "Obama's fault" and "I have been saying for weeks for President Obama to stop the flights from West Africa. So simple, but he refused. A TOTAL incompetent!" Trump also criticized President Obama's decision to send 3,000 U.S. troops to affected regions

title: Park51
text: a question about the pain the project was causing some family members, he said: I don't see an enormous number of people. I was at a fundraiser ... maybe 50 ... people who had lost [family] members. 100% in that room kept saying, 'please keep it up, keep it up'... our relatives would have wanted this country, and this city, to follow and actually practice what we preach. Bloomberg was asked if he was satisfied that "he is indeed a man of peace given his background where he's supposedly supported Hamas, blamed the U.S. for 9/11 attacks?" The mayor responded:

title: 2017 Shayrat missile strike
text: of God should ever suffer such horror.' Amen." In a joint statement, Senators John McCain (R–AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R–SC) said, "Unlike the previous administration, President Trump confronted a pivotal moment in Syria and took action. For that, he deserves the support of the American people." Their sentiment was shared by fellow Senators Bob Corker (R–TN), Tom Cotton (R–AR), Joni Ernst (R–IA), Cory Gardner (R–CO), David Perdue (R–GA), Ben Sasse (R–NE), and Thom Tillis (R–NC). Many members who supported the action showed lack of worry about the authority issues or did not know the legal and constitutional rationale that supported

title: Humayun Khan (soldier)
text: too overcome by emotion at the convention to speak at the podium. She wrote, "Donald Trump said I had nothing to say. I do. My son Humayun Khan, an Army captain, died 12 years ago in Iraq. He loved America..." Republican leaders Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have criticized Trump's comments. A strong rebuke came from US Senator John McCain from Arizona; the former presidential candidate said that Trump did not represent the ideals of the Republican Party and its leaders. Veterans of Foreign Wars followed with a statement saying, "Election year or

title: Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign
text: deposed dictators, Saddam and Muammar Gaddafi, were still in power, and in December he described Saddam's use of poison gas against civilians as "throwing a little gas". His July 5 comments were widely criticized. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan dissociated himself from the remarks, and a spokesman for Hillary Clinton said "Donald Trump's praise for brutal strongmen seemingly knows no bounds." Asked about the failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, Trump praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying, "I give great credit to him for being able to turn that around." During his campaign, Trump frequently gave voice to

title: Word of Honor (novel)
text: he briefly considered reporting it but only briefly. And that, even though he knows it was an immoral and illegal one, he would make the same decision. He does explain how he was somewhat protecting his men and that he is sad for them and their families now that the truth has come out. But at the same time he points out that this sadness is nothing compared to the innocent lives lost at the hospital. He ends by saying he cannot think of anything extenuating and mitigating. Corva then questions him to continue and an awkward questioning phase begins

title: Khizr and Ghazala Khan
text: for exercising his or her right of speech or expression." Paul Rieckhoff of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America said that Trump's comparison of his own sacrifice to families who lost family members in war was "insulting, foolish and ignorant." The Jewish War Veterans of the United States said that Trump was worthy of "contempt" and said that his remarks on Ghazala Khan were "vile beyond words." An open letter by 23 Gold Star families called upon Trump to apologize to the Khans. On August 4, a group of protesters at a Trump rally in Portland, Maine, were ejected

title: Foreign policy of Donald Trump (2015-2016)
text: stealing anything," Trump said. "We're reimbursing ourselves ... at a minimum, and I say more. We're taking back $1.5tn to reimburse ourselves." Trump reiterated his support for seizing other nations' oil after taking office as President. In January 2017, he said that the United States "should have kept the oil" after the Iraq invasion and "maybe we'll have another chance". In February 2017, Trump reiterated his support for seizing other nations' oil: "We've spent $6 trillion ... in the Middle East ... We've got nothing. We've got nothing. We never even kept a small, even a tiny oil well. Not

title: Foreign policy of Donald Trump (2015-2016)
text: again reversed course, saying on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he would have supported "surgical" bombing, against Gaddafi in particular. However, during both an NBC presidential forum and a presidential debate in September 2016, Trump once again reversed his position, criticizing Hillary Clinton for her support for the 2011 military intervention. In May 2016, Trump suggested that the United States should bomb ISIL in Libya. In December 2015, Trump said that the days of the Saudi Royal Family buying off American politicians will end if he is elected President. In February 2016, Trump blamed Saudi Arabia for the September 11