Earlier this week, a Democratic congresswoman tried to politicize a phone call that President Donald Trump made to a grieving widow who just lost her son in combat, which she listened in on. Outraged, the White House Chief of Staff, General John Kelly, a Gold Star parent himself, sharply criticized her for doing so during a recent press conference.

This occurred shortly after Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) attacked Trump for allegedly not being compassionate enough while on the phone with Myeshia Johnson. She is a 24-year-old woman who just found out that her husband, Army Sergeant La David Johnson, was among the four soldiers killed during a deadly ambush in Niger. Gen. Kelly told reporters in the White House’s press briefing room, “it stuns me that a member of Congress would’ve listened in on that conversation.

To clarify why he was upset, he stated, “I thought at least that was sacred. You know when I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in this country. Women were sacred and looked upon with great honor. That’s obviously not the case anymore as we can see from recent cases. I just thought the selfless devotion that brings a man or a woman to die on the battlefield — I just thought that that might be sacred.”

Kelly then recounted a story from 2015 about a congresswoman who used the dedication of a new FBI field office in Miami honoring two men who died in a gunfight with drug traffickers while on duty to praise herself rather than honor the two fallen officers.

“A congresswoman stood up and, in the long tradition of empty barrels making the most noise, stood up there in all of that and talked about how she was instrumental in getting the funding for that building,” recalled Kelly.

“How she took care of her constituents because she got the money and just called up President Obama and on that phone call he gave the money, the $20 million to build a building, and she sat down,” he continued, noting, “and we were stunned. Stunned that she had done it. Even for someone that is that empty a barrel, we were stunned. But none of us went to the press and criticized. None of us stood up and were appalled. We just said okay, fine.”

Before concluding, Kelly called on all Americans to avoid politicizing the deaths of those killed in combat. “I appeal to America, let’s not let this last thing that’s held sacred in our society — a young man or young woman going out and giving his or her life for our country — let’s try to somehow to keep that sacred,” urged Kelly. “But it eroded a great deal yesterday by a selfish member of Congress,” he added before taking questions.

Unsurprisingly, Kelly’s comments made Rep. Wilson furious. “You know, I feel sorry for Gen. Kelly. He has the sympathy for the loss of his son. But he can’t just go on TV and lie on me,” claimed Wilson, referring to his comments about the FBI dedication ceremony.

“I was not even Congress in 2009 when the money for the building was secured,” she explained, noting, “so that’s a lie. How dare he.”

Anyone who tries to politicize terrible events, like Rep. Wilson, should be ashamed of themselves. This is because, when a tragedy occurs, the focus should be on mourning, not politics.