The Washington D.C. shooting on Wednesday sent shockwaves across the country. While on a Thanksgiving call with U.S. troops, Donald Trump talked about the incident. However, he went off script, shifting into a rant about himself.
Following the shooting, the POTUS got on a call with six U.S. military units that are deployed at various places around the globe. On the Thanksgiving call, he broke the tragic news of the death of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom. The Army Specialist was brutally shot near Farragut Square Metro Station in D.C.
Donald Trump, who managed to avoid the military draft about five times, told the units, “She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now.” He continued, “Her parents are with her. It’s just happened. She was savagely attacked. She’s dead.”
The Republican President then expressed his apparent gratitude towards the service members. “I just want to thank you so much, incredible people.”
.@POTUS announces that U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom of Summersville, West Virginia, one of the National Guardsmen savagely attacked yesterday in Washington, D.C., has just passed away.
May God be with her family 🙏 pic.twitter.com/BEbAOxmJme
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 27, 2025
“You make this sacrifice as few others understand. A lot of them don’t even understand it. And you’re keeping America safe and free. Our military is strong,” said Trump. However, it wasn’t long enough before the POTUS dived into his personal rants, while thanking the 101st Airborne Division for protecting the border.
“We have nobody coming in. 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,” Donald Trump said during the Thanksgiving call with the military units.
“We do the greatest job, but that’s alright. They don’t talk about the border anymore because you know why? Nobody comes in,” he added. This was barely the first time Donald Trump criticized his predecessor’s immigration policy.
President Trump Participates in a Call with Service Members https://t.co/pX1CJgHTEv
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 27, 2025
The suspected D.C. shooter who shot two National Guard members has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national living in D.C. Although Donald Trump claimed that the suspect was “flown here” by Joe Biden‘s “bad” administration, it was he who approved his asylum.
According to CNN, Lakanwal allegedly came to the United States during the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. In 2024, he applied for asylum, and it was approved in April 2025 by the Trump administration.
On Thursday, the POTUS ranted, “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. For the most part, we don’t want them. They come in illegally. They have a lot of problems.”
Following the call with the service members, Donald Trump seemingly seemed to brush past the violence in the capital, as he engaged in talking about Thanksgiving. “You probably had your dinner already, but I didn’t. And I don’t know exactly what I’m going to have. Turkey, OK? I believe it’s turkey,” he told the reporters during the press conference he held afterwards.
