This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/us/politics/trump-widow-johnson-call.html
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Trump Told a Soldier’s Widow Her Husband ‘Knew What He Signed Up For,’ His Mother Says | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — The mother of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger said Wednesday that President Trump disrespected her family during a call with the man’s widow by saying the soldier “knew what he signed up for.” | |
| President Trump denied he said those words to Sgt. La David T. Johnson’s wife during a Tuesday phone call and escalated his dispute with Representative Frederica Wilson, Democrat of Florida, who first described the exchange on Tuesday. | |
| Speaking before a meeting with members of the Senate Finance Committee, Mr. Trump said, “I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who sounded like a wonderful woman.” He also asserted, “I didn’t say what that congresswoman said. Didn’t say it at all, she knows it.” | |
| Yet when asked about Ms. Wilson’s account of the call on Wednesday, Mr. Johnson’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, backed the congresswoman’s version. “Yes, he did state that comment,” Ms. Jones-Johnson said of Mr. Trump, corresponding via Facebook. | |
| Pressed twice by reporters about Ms. Wilson’s description, Mr. Trump dared her to make the allegations again. “Let her make her statement again and then you’ll find out,” the president said. | |
| The back and forth has angered many, including Representative Alcee Hastings, Democrat of Florida, who said Mr. Trump needs to stop disrespecting Mr. Johnson’s family. “My position is that the vapid, vacuous vessel that is Donald Trump’s brain produces lie after lie after lie,” Mr. Hastings said. “All of us see this and somebody needs to say to him, not just as it pertains to this issue, ‘Stop the damn lies.’” | |
| Ms. Wilson recounted details of Mr. Trump’s call with Sergeant Johnson’s widow, Myeshia Johnson. On Tuesday, Ms. Wilson was in the car with the widow, and said she overheard the phone call from the president, who was on speakerphone. Sergeant Johnson was killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month that killed three other soldiers and injured two in the Army Special Forces Unit. | |
| Ms. Wilson said that during the call, the president told Ms. Johnson “something to the fact that he knew what he was getting into when he signed up,” the congresswoman said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday. | Ms. Wilson said that during the call, the president told Ms. Johnson “something to the fact that he knew what he was getting into when he signed up,” the congresswoman said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday. |
| “But that’s not the worst part,” Ms. Wilson said. “She was crying the whole time and when she hung up the phone she looked at me and said ‘he didn’t even remember his name.’ That’s the hurting part.” | “But that’s not the worst part,” Ms. Wilson said. “She was crying the whole time and when she hung up the phone she looked at me and said ‘he didn’t even remember his name.’ That’s the hurting part.” |
| Mr. Trump’s comments were the latest in a series of remarks he made this week drawing attention to grieving families of fallen solders. | Mr. Trump’s comments were the latest in a series of remarks he made this week drawing attention to grieving families of fallen solders. |
| Mr. Trump took to Twitter early Wednesday and disputed the account. | Mr. Trump took to Twitter early Wednesday and disputed the account. |
| Mr. Trump did not say what proof he had. | Mr. Trump did not say what proof he had. |
| Ms. Wilson said she stood by her description of the call. | Ms. Wilson said she stood by her description of the call. |
| “I don’t know what kind of proof he could be talking about,” Ms. Wilson said on CNN’s “New Day.” | “I don’t know what kind of proof he could be talking about,” Ms. Wilson said on CNN’s “New Day.” |
| She added, “I have proof, too.” | She added, “I have proof, too.” |
| Later on Wednesday morning, Ms. Wilson pushed back against the president in a Twitter post. | Later on Wednesday morning, Ms. Wilson pushed back against the president in a Twitter post. |
| Sergeant Johnson, 25, was from Miami Gardens, Fla., the Defense Department said. He and Ms. Johnson had two children, and Ms. Johnson is pregnant. The Pentagon has launched an investigation into the ambush in Niger. | Sergeant Johnson, 25, was from Miami Gardens, Fla., the Defense Department said. He and Ms. Johnson had two children, and Ms. Johnson is pregnant. The Pentagon has launched an investigation into the ambush in Niger. |
| Mr. Trump has said very little about the Niger episode. When he was asked by a reporter about this on Monday, he responded by saying he had written letters to the soldiers’ families. Mr. Trump compared his actions to past presidents and said past presidents have not always contacted families of those killed in action. | Mr. Trump has said very little about the Niger episode. When he was asked by a reporter about this on Monday, he responded by saying he had written letters to the soldiers’ families. Mr. Trump compared his actions to past presidents and said past presidents have not always contacted families of those killed in action. |
| Mr. Trump singled out former President Barack Obama, saying he had not made such calls, an assertion that quickly drew angry rebukes from former Obama aides. | Mr. Trump singled out former President Barack Obama, saying he had not made such calls, an assertion that quickly drew angry rebukes from former Obama aides. |
| In a radio interview on Tuesday, Mr. Trump suggested that Mr. Obama never called John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general and now the White House chief of staff, when his son died in Afghanistan in 2010. | In a radio interview on Tuesday, Mr. Trump suggested that Mr. Obama never called John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general and now the White House chief of staff, when his son died in Afghanistan in 2010. |
| “You could ask General Kelly, ‘Did he get a call from Obama?’ ” Mr. Trump said in an interview on Fox News Radio. “I believe his policy was somewhat different than my policy. I can tell you my policy is I called every one of them.” | “You could ask General Kelly, ‘Did he get a call from Obama?’ ” Mr. Trump said in an interview on Fox News Radio. “I believe his policy was somewhat different than my policy. I can tell you my policy is I called every one of them.” |
| Mr. Trump’s tweet rebutting Ms. Wilson’s account of the phone call was his sixth Twitter post on Wednesday morning and came after Ms. Wilson’s description was discussed on morning news shows. Mr. Trump often takes to Twitter with reactions to what he sees on television. | Mr. Trump’s tweet rebutting Ms. Wilson’s account of the phone call was his sixth Twitter post on Wednesday morning and came after Ms. Wilson’s description was discussed on morning news shows. Mr. Trump often takes to Twitter with reactions to what he sees on television. |
| Mr. Trump’s first Twitter posts were about the former F.B.I. director, James Comey, as well as about his Democratic opponent in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, and the ongoing debate about professional football players kneeling during the national anthem. | Mr. Trump’s first Twitter posts were about the former F.B.I. director, James Comey, as well as about his Democratic opponent in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, and the ongoing debate about professional football players kneeling during the national anthem. |
| “Total disrespect for our great country,” Mr. Trump wrote on Wednesday, referring to the football players. | “Total disrespect for our great country,” Mr. Trump wrote on Wednesday, referring to the football players. |