Trump was insensitive in call to widow - soldier's mother
18 October 2017
The mother of a US soldier who was killed in action has backed a congresswoman's claim that President Donald Trump showed insensitivity during a phone call to her son's widow. Representative Frederica Wilson said he had told Myeshia Johnson: "He knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway." Mr Trump said Ms Wilson's account was "totally fabricated". Sgt La David Johnson was killed in Niger by Islamist militants this month. He was one of four US special forces soldiers who died in an ambush. Mr Trump had already been criticised for not contacting the families of the dead servicemen right after the fatal ambush on 4 October. Sgt Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, backed Representative Wilson's account of the phone call. "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband," she told the Washington Post newspaper. A separate case which saw Mr Trump offer money to the grieving father of a dead serviceman in a call, but allegedly not pay up, has now emerged. "He said: 'I'm going to write you a cheque out of my personal account for $25,000', and I was just floored," the father told the Washington Post. The White House told the newspaper on Wednesday that the cheque had been sent, saying it was a "generous and sincere gesture". According to CNN, it was sent the same day that the Washington Post report came to light. Ms Wilson, who represents a Florida district, told CNN the president's call had been made shortly before Sgt Johnson's coffin arrived by aircraft in his home city of Miami. Ms Wilson told WPLG, a Miami TV station, she had heard the president's "so insensitive" remarks to the widow on speakerphone in a limousine. "To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn't say that to a grieving widow," she said. "And everyone knows when you go to war, you could possibly not come back alive. But you don't remind a grieving widow of that." Former Nato commander: Trump must be 'consoler-in-chief' Ms Wilson told the Washington Post that Ms Johnson, who is expecting the couple's third child, had broken down in tears after the conversation. "He made her cry," Ms Wilson said. The congresswoman told the newspaper that she had wanted to grab the phone and "curse him out", but an army sergeant who was holding the handset would not let her speak to the president. Ms Johnson responded to Mr Trump's denial by tweeting: "I still stand by my account of the call b/t @realDonaldTrump and Myeshia Johnson. That is her name, Mr Trump. Not "the woman" or "the wife". She later issued a statement saying she did not wish to "engage in a petty war of words with Mr Trump" but again standing by everything she had said. The president tweeted on Wednesday morning: "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!" Mr Trump has yet to provide any evidence. A White House official said Mr Trump's conversations with the families of dead servicemen were private. Mr Trump later told reporters: "I did not say what she [Ms Wilson] said... I had a very nice conversation." When asked about what "proof" he could offer, Mr Trump said: "Let her make her statement again, then you will find out." Later, at a White House briefing, press secretary Sarah Sanders condemned Ms Wilson who she said had "politicised" the issue. "This was a president who loves our country very much, who has the greatest level of respect for men and women in the uniform and wanted to call and offer condolences to the family. "And I think to try and create something from that... is frankly appalling and disgusting." By Anthony Zurcher, senior North America reporter, BBC News In US politics, nothing is off-limits any more. After (inaccurately) swiping at his predecessors for not calling the family members of US soldiers killed in combat, Mr Trump is on the defensive over allegations he mishandled a call with a grieving widow. The accuser is a partisan Democratic congresswoman and the president, not surprisingly, is pushing back hard. This controversy is spiralling towards the gutter. Mr Trump made this bed, however. He was quick to cite the slain son of chief of staff John Kelly to justify his contention that Barack Obama didn't always make phone calls. Then there were the disparaging comments candidate Mr Trump made last summer about the parents of a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq. The more this story drags on - and it will drag on - the more damage it could do to a president who wraps himself in the symbols of patriotism and the military, but is in danger of being viewed by the public as lacking empathy when it counts most. An important presidential role is consoler-in-chief during times of tragedy. Successful politicians learn early that they need a human touch. It's a job Mr Trump, the anti-politician, has little experience doing - and it shows. Five reasons Trump's widow story stings Mr Trump has been on the defensive over the deaths in Niger since a reporter asked him at the White House on Monday why he had still not called the families. He provoked fury by falsely claiming that his predecessor, Barack Obama, and other former US presidents had not called the relatives of dead service members. Mr Trump also said he had written letters to the families of the four servicemen killed in Niger and planned to call them soon. The White House later said the president had spoken to the families but it did not say when. On Tuesday, Mr Trump ratcheted up the row by suggesting that President Obama had not called the family of Mr Trump's chief of staff, Gen John Kelly, when his son was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. The Associated Press says that like presidents before him, Mr Trump has made personal contact with some families of dead soldiers - but not all. "What's different is that Trump, alone among them, has picked a political fight over who's done better to honour the war dead and their families," the American news agency reports. "He placed himself at the top of this pantheon, boasting Tuesday that 'I think I've called every family of someone who's died' while past presidents didn't place such calls'." Politico magazine is carrying a report saying that a statement about the Niger ambush victims was prepared - but never released. This is not the first time Mr Trump has found himself in an imbroglio over US veterans. As presidential candidate, he mocked Senator John McCain for having been captured and held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam after his aircraft was shot down. Mr McCain has been praised for the bravery he showed during torture by his VietCong captors, and for his leadership of other American prisoners. Mr Trump also engaged in a feud with the parents of decorated army captain Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American who was killed in Iraq in 2004.
Ms Wilson, who represents a Florida district, told CNN the president's call had been made shortly before Sgt Johnson's coffin arrived by aircraft in his home city of Miami. Ms Wilson told WPLG, a Miami TV station, she had heard the president's "so insensitive" remarks to the widow on speakerphone in a limousine. "To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn't say that to a grieving widow," she said. "And everyone knows when you go to war, you could possibly not come back alive. But you don't remind a grieving widow of that." Former Nato commander: Trump must be 'consoler-in-chief' Ms Wilson told the Washington Post that Ms Johnson, who is expecting the couple's third child, had broken down in tears after the conversation. "He made her cry," Ms Wilson said. The congresswoman told the newspaper that she had wanted to grab the phone and "curse him out", but an army sergeant who was holding the handset would not let her speak to the president. Ms Johnson responded to Mr Trump's denial by tweeting: "I still stand by my account of the call b/t @realDonaldTrump and Myeshia Johnson. That is her name, Mr Trump. Not "the woman" or "the wife". She later issued a statement saying she did not wish to "engage in a petty war of words with Mr Trump" but again standing by everything she had said.
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What does Trump's accuser say?
The president tweeted on Wednesday morning: "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!" Mr Trump has yet to provide any evidence. A White House official said Mr Trump's conversations with the families of dead servicemen were private. Mr Trump later told reporters: "I did not say what she [Ms Wilson] said... I had a very nice conversation." When asked about what "proof" he could offer, Mr Trump said: "Let her make her statement again, then you will find out." Later, at a White House briefing, press secretary Sarah Sanders condemned Ms Wilson who she said had "politicised" the issue. "This was a president who loves our country very much, who has the greatest level of respect for men and women in the uniform and wanted to call and offer condolences to the family. "And I think to try and create something from that... is frankly appalling and disgusting."
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How did Trump respond?
Mr Trump has been on the defensive over the deaths in Niger since a reporter asked him at the White House on Monday why he had still not called the families. He provoked fury by falsely claiming that his predecessor, Barack Obama, and other former US presidents had not called the relatives of dead service members. Mr Trump also said he had written letters to the families of the four servicemen killed in Niger and planned to call them soon. The White House later said the president had spoken to the families but it did not say when. On Tuesday, Mr Trump ratcheted up the row by suggesting that President Obama had not called the family of Mr Trump's chief of staff, Gen John Kelly, when his son was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. The Associated Press says that like presidents before him, Mr Trump has made personal contact with some families of dead soldiers - but not all. "What's different is that Trump, alone among them, has picked a political fight over who's done better to honour the war dead and their families," the American news agency reports. "He placed himself at the top of this pantheon, boasting Tuesday that 'I think I've called every family of someone who's died' while past presidents didn't place such calls'." Politico magazine is carrying a report saying that a statement about the Niger ambush victims was prepared - but never released.
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How did this row begin?