Article snippet: President Trump found himself in a growing maelstrom Wednesday as military families came forward to criticize how he treated them after their relatives were killed in action. Trump lit the spark on the dispute on Monday when he claimed, incorrectly, that President Obama had not made calls to Gold Star families. Since then, that spark has become a raging blaze consuming everything else on the political stage. Allies of the president are expressing weary frustration at yet another distracting controversy. “The more the president focuses on this the worse it’s getting, because one story is now turning into a Pandora’s box of families with negative Trump stories,” lamented one GOP strategist with ties to the White House. The furor dominated cable news coverage on Wednesday and forced White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders onto the defensive at the daily media briefing. Reporters uncovered new avenues to the story throughout the day. The Washington Post interviewed the father of an army sergeant killed in Afghanistan who said Trump had promised to write him a $25,000 check from his personal account, but had not followed through. The White House said a check had been sent and criticized the media. The wife of an army sergeant also killed in Afghanistan told CNN that she had been told to wait by her phone for a call from the president. The call never came, she said. The Post reported that it had made contact with 13 Gold Star families. Trump had called abo... Link to the full article to read more