The families of nine soldiers who have died since President Trump took office say they haven't heard from the president.

The Associated Press tried to contact all 43 families of soldiers who have died in service since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, reaching 18 of them.

Nine of those families said they have received a phone call or letter from Trump, and nine others said they hadn't, according to the AP.

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Trump sparked controversy earlier this week when he claimed during a press conference that former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaDemocratic Senate campaign arm outraises GOP by M in August A federal court may have declared immigration arrests unconstitutional Blunt says vote on Trump court nominee different than 2016 because White House, Senate in 'political agreement' MORE didn't call the families of fallen soldiers. When pressed on his claim, Trump said he had been "told" Obama didn't call often.

In an interview Tuesday, Trump brought up his chief of staff, John Kelly John Francis KellyMORE, to defend his claim. The president told the press to ask Kelly whether he received a call from Obama after Kelly's son was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.

In that same interview Tuesday, Trump said, "I think I've called every family of someone who's died."

On Wednesday, the controversy deepened when Rep. Frederica Wilson Frederica Patricia WilsonHarris calls it 'outrageous' Trump downplayed coronavirus House passes bill establishing commission to study racial disparities affecting Black men, boys Florida county official apologizes for social media post invoking Hitler MORE (D-Fla.) said Trump told the widow of a Green Beret killed earlier this month in Niger that her husband "knew what he signed up for."

Trump strongly denied Wilson's account of the call.

Cowanda Jones-Johnson, the soldier's mother, told The Washington Post that Trump "did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband" and said Wilson's characterization was accurate.

The Post also interviewed a Gold Star father who said Trump had promised him a personal check for $25,000, which has not yet arrived.

The paper reported that it had made contact with 13 Gold Star families and that Trump had called about half of them.