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'You need to come through with it:' Father said Trump offered $25K after soldier's death

A Gold Star family from Zebulon is speaking out about their interaction with President Donald Trump after their son's death in Afghanistan and a monetary offer they said they never received.

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ZEBULON, N.C. — A Gold Star family from Zebulon is speaking out about their interaction with President Donald Trump after their son's death in Afghanistan and a monetary offer they said they never received.
One year ago, Chris Baldridge saw his son, Army Sgt. Dillon Baldridge, for the last time.

“We went to the State Fair, ate some deep fried Twinkies and had a good time,” Chris Baldridge recalled. “He’d just bring out the best in you.”

Eight months later, Dillon Baldridge was killed in Afghanistan. Every day since, Chris Baldridge has worn a hat his son gave him.

“It makes me proud,” he said.

Chris Baldridge remembers the call he received from Trump after his son’s death, including an offer to give him a personal check for $25,000 after he expressed frustration with the military’s casualty benefits. Three months after that conversation, Chris Baldridge said he has still not received a check.

“I mean, if you’re going to make a gesture like that, I just feel like you need to come through with it, you know,” Chris Baldridge said.

White House officials told NBC News that the check was sent to the Baldridge family, but it was delayed because of a problem in the approval process. Officials said Trump personally followed up to make sure the family got the check.

Chris Baldridge said that, for him, it’s less about the money and more about feeling like his country let him down after his son was killed by the Afghan soldier he was training.

“It’s hard to feel like something isn’t owed to you. I’d rather have him back than any dollar amount,” he said.

Trump has faced criticism in recent days after he claimed to have called “every family of someone who’s died” and asserted that past presidents had not. The claims prompted several Gold Star families to come forward to say they never heard from the president after they lost a child in combat.

Chris Baldridge said he is disheartened that his son never got to meet his little sister, Shelby.

“He was our Captain America, something to look up to, for sure, something to brag about,” Chris Baldridge said of his son.

WRAL reached out to the White House for comment, but did not receive a response.

Trump spokeswoman Lindsay Walters told the Associated Press it was "disgusting" that the news media were casting his "generous and sincere gesture" in a negative light.

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