President Donald Trump was asked this week whether he intends to attend the funeral of a West Virginia National Guard member killed in a Washington, D.C., shooting — but instead pivoted to talking about his electoral margin in the state.
On Thursday, Nov. 27, during his annual Thanksgiving call with U.S. service members, Trump announced that U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, had died and that her colleague, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, both from West Virginia, was “fighting for his life,” PBS News reported.
Calling Specialist Beckstrom a “highly respected, young, magnificent person,” Trump told the troops, “She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now,” according to CNN.
A White House official said the president had spoken with Beckstrom’s family, The New York Times reported.
Beckstrom, from Summersville, was killed in an ambush-style shooting on Thanksgiving Eve just blocks from the White House, allegedly by an Afghan national who once worked with the CIA in Kabul, authorities said.
Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach on Thanksgiving Day, Trump was asked if he planned to attend Beckstrom’s funeral.
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“I hadn’t thought about it yet, but it certainly is something I could conceive of,” he replied.
He then immediately shifted to a political note, adding, “I love West Virginia. You know I won West Virginia by one of the biggest margins of any president anywhere. These are great people. I love the people of West Virginia. I love the people of our country. But I haven’t given it any thought, but it sounds like something I could do.”
At a press conference on Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said that Specialist Beckstrom and Sergeant Wolfe had been sworn in just 24 hours before the shooting, CNN reported.
The guardsmen, Pirro said, “were ambushed in a brazen and targeted attack,” according to CNN.
Specialist Beckstrom began her service on June 6, 2023, and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade of the West Virginia Army National Guard, the Times reported.
Sergeant Wolfe began his service on Feb. 5, 2019, and was assigned to the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard.
They were among more than 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C., in August, in response to what Trump described as rampant crime in the nation’s capital. His decision to use the military in this way has been criticized by opponents as excessive and partisan, given the city’s Democratic voting history.
Guard troops have since been deployed to other cities as well, including Chicago and Portland.
A federal judge last week ordered the National Guard’s deployment to be suspended in D.C., but the ruling was stayed for three weeks, according to the Times.
The suspect in the shooting has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national living in Washington state. Authorities allege that he drove from Washington state to D.C., where he shot the two guardsmen.
Lakanwal was initially charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Pirro said on Friday morning that the charges would be upgraded to first-degree murder following Specialist Beckstrom’s death.
In a statement, the White House wrote, “President Trump delivered his heartfelt condolences about Sarah Beckstrom’s tragic death that only happened because Joe Biden welcomed countless unvetted criminals into our country.”
The statement continued, “President Trump cares deeply for the great people of West Virginia and especially for those serving our country.”
It is not yet clear whether Lakanwal has entered a plea or retained an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
