John Kelly, Donald Trump’s chief of staff, only called on journalists during a press conference who knew someone who had family killed in combat.
Mr Kelly made an appearance at the White House briefing on Thursday afternoon to defend Mr Trump’s call this week to the widow of a slain soldier.
After speaking for about 18 minutes, during which he assailed the President’s critics, Mr Kelly asked reporters if anyone had a Gold Star parent or sibling.
The US Defence Department issues Gold Star Lapel Buttons to immediate family members of a fallen member of the military.
When no one raised their hand, Mr Kelly asked: “Does anyone here know a Gold Star parent or sibling?”
A few reporters in the room responded that they did.
“Okay. You get the question,” Mr Kelly said to one of them.
Mr Kelly had surprised many when he took to the stage in the White House briefing room.
In an emotional statement, Mr Kelly said he was “stunned” that a Democratic congresswoman, Frederica Wilson, had listened in on the call and then spoke to the press about it.
In an interview with CNN, Ms Wilson said the President told the widow that her husband “knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurt.”
“I was stunned when I came to work yesterday, and brokenhearted, when I saw what a member of Congress was doing,” Mr Kelly said on Thursday. “What she was saying, what she was doing on TV.”
