President Trump claimed adamantly this week that he didn't tell the widow of a fallen soldier that her husband knew "what he signed up for," calling an account confirmed by the soldier's mother "totally fabricated."

Then, on Thursday, his chief of staff said that wasn't entirely true.

John Kelly defended Trump's call to the widow, Myeshia Johnson, during a White House press briefing. Kelly told reporters that Trump's words echoed those Kelly heard when his son died in Afghanistan, including words the president denied using earlier this week.

"He knew what he was getting into when he joined” the military. “And when he died he was surrounded by the best men on this Earth, his friends,” Kelly said. “That’s what the president tried to say to the four families yesterday.”

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Surprise: Trump ranks his response to Puerto Rico 'a 10' out of 10

Trump, never short on confidence or long on modesty, gave himself a perfect score when asked about his response to Puerto Rico's hurricane devastation. "I'd say it was a 10" on a scale of 10, Trump told reporters. Millions of Americans on the island still lack power and sufficient water almost a month after Hurricane Maria.

George W. Bush gives a clear rebuke of Trump, but not by name

George W. Bush called on Americans to reject bigotry, white supremacy and protectionism in a speech on Thursday, and pretty much everyone heard it as a veiled criticism of President Trump. Make of that what you will.

At the Bush Institute’s Spirit of Liberty event in New York, the former president lamented that "bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry, and compromises the moral education of children."

Bush's address follows John McCain's Monday night speech in Philadelphia that was also viewed as a rebuke of the Trump era. (Eminem's recent address was more explicit, of course.)

Trump backs off tax benefits for the wealthy, while a new health care fix emerges

Bad news for the bloody rich: Trump's latest push for tax reform will end a 23.8% preferential tax rate for hedge-fund managers, along with other benefits for wealthy taxpayers. That's according to White House officials, who said Trump may pitch the plan during his first Oval Office address in November.

Meanwhile, Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy have ditched their own short-term health care fix to back one from a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The two-year plan would secure funding to subsidize plans for low-income customers.

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