Gregory Korte

USA TODAY

Corrections and/or clarifications: A previous version of this story misstated the year that Sharon Belkofer's son, Lt. Col. Tom Belkofer, was killed in Afghanistan. It was 2010.

President Obama lauded the families of American service members killed in action, telling a veterans group that those families "have made a sacrifice that most of us can't even begin to imagine."

Without specifically mentioning the dispute between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and the Khan family, Obama went out of his way to talk about Gold Star families in a previously scheduled speech to the Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta.

"Let me say this. No one — no one — has given more for our freedom and our security than our Gold Star families. Michelle and I have spent countless hours with them. We have grieved with them," he said.

"They continue to inspire us every day, every moment," he said. "They serve as a powerful reminder of the true strength of America. We have to do everything we can for those families and honor them and be humbled by them."

Obama's comments come after five days of headlines following a passionate denunciation of Trump by Khizr Khan, the father of father of Capt. Humayun Khan, who died in 2004 in Iraq while trying to save his unit from a suicide bomber.

The Trump-Khan feud: How we got here

Khan said Trump "smears the character of Muslims" and has "sacrificed nothing" to defend the United States. Trump responded by attacking Khan's wife, suggesting that she was not allowed to speak at the Democratic convention because she is a Muslim woman.

Obama said he specifically requested that he be introduced at the Democratic National Convention by a Gold Star mother — Sharon Belkofer of Ohio, whose son was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.

"I requested Sharon to introduce me, because I understood that our Gold Star families have made a sacrifice that most of us can't even begin to imagine. They represent the best of our country," he said.

Obama's comments came in a speech defending his administration's handling of veterans issues. He urged Congress to fully fund the VA, promised to reduce wait times and criticized proposals to partially privatize veterans health care. And he said his administration has cut veterans homelessness almost in half.

Despite vow to end veteran homelessness, Obama administration halfway there

But in doing so, Obama also tacitly confronted other Trump talking points in his speech, saying he was "tired of people trash-talking our troops."

"In the face of Russian aggression, we're not going to turn our back to our allies in Europe," he said, a day after Trump suggested he would recognize the Russian occupation of Crimea, which the United States considers to be part of Ukraine. "We're going to stay united in NATO, which is thew world's strongest alliance."