This is the cbs evening news. Mason good evening. Im Anthony Mason. It was an extraordinary scene at the white house today, chief of staff john kelly, whose son was killed in afghanistan, defended President Trumps handling of a condolence call to the widow of a fallen soldier. The retired general blasted the congresswoman who had criticized the president , florida democrat Frederica Wilson, as an empty barrel, saying it makes the most noise. Kelly said hed recommended early on that the president not call families of the fallen, but mr. Trump told him he wanted to call the families of the four soldiers killed two weeks ago in niger. And he said to me, what do i say . I said to him, sir, theres nothing you can do to lighten the burden on these families. But let me tell you what i tell them. He was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. He knew what he was getting into by joining the that 1 . He knew what the possibilities were because were at war. And when he died, in the
45th, but his focus was clear. Weve seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty. At times it can seem like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Reporter he suggested that an America First mindset is distorting our democracy. Weve seen nationalism distorted into nativism, forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to america. Reporter there was no specific reference to President Trumps mantra. That was fake news. Reporter but president bush pointedly called on journalists to uphold their integrity for the sake of the republic. A democracy needs a media that is transparent, accurate, and fair. Reporter a similar call to arms was made by another senior republican earlier this week, senator john mccain. For the sake of some halfbaked, spurious nationalism, cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems. Reporter today, former president barack obama also spoke out. The world counts on america having its act