Donald Trump has made the death of U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens a central talking point of his campaign for president – and Stevens' mother wants him to stop.
In an op-ed piece published in the New York Times on Friday, Mary F. Commanday, Stevens' mother, calls on Trump to stop using her son's name in attacks against Hillary Clinton:
As Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens’s mother, I am writing to object to any mention of his name and death in Benghazi, Libya, by Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party.
I know for certain that Chris would not have wanted his name or memory used in that connection. I hope that there will be an immediate and permanent stop to this opportunistic and cynical use by the campaign.
MARY F. COMMANDAY
Oakland, Calif.
The Republican National Convention dedicated nearly a whole day to the deaths of four Americans at the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya – with much of the focus on the alleged failure of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to respond appropriately. Trump himself has brought it up repeatedly on the campaign trail, including during his speech accepting the Republican nomination for president.
If you want to know about Hillary Clinton's honesty & judgment, ask the family of Ambassador Stevens.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2016
While Stevens' mother might object, the mother of information management officer Sean Smith – who was also killed in the attack – was one of the featured speakers at the RNC, as ABC News reported.
"For all of this loss, for all of this grief, for all of the cynicism, the tragedy in Benghazi has brought on America, I blame Hillary Clinton," Patricia Smith, the mother of Sean Smith, said at the RNC. "I blame Hillary Clinton for the death of my son, personally."
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ABC News writer Morgan Winsor contributed to this story.
