Trump Under Fire for Mishandling Conversation about Deceased Veteran
President Trump found himself in another sticky situation on Tuesday, October 17 when he allegedly forgot the name of a deceased veteran and disrespected the veteran’s wife.
The widow of fallen veteran Sgt. David T. Johnson spoke out about the profane comments President Trump said during a phone call. Florida Democratic rep. Fredrica Wilson told CNN that Trump stated that the soldiers who were killed in Niger last month “knew what they signed up for.”
In Niger on October 8, a twelve-man mission operated by the US Special Operations Task Force went terribly wrong. According to CNN, the group was ambushed by 50 attackers who were potentially associated with ISIS. An hour after the attack occurred, a call was made for backup, but by then four soldiers were already dead. Sgt. Johnson’s body was misplaced and not recovered for two days after his death.
President Trump dismisses ever saying this statement instead of taking responsibility for it.
“Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!” he tweeted on October 18.
These comments from President Trump are seen as extremely insensitive by the widow of fallen Sgt. Johnson. She believes that Trump is making this tragedy too much about his own personal agenda by defending his statements instead of apologizing for a simple mistake he made.
“This is not about you, it is about them,” Myeshia Johnson told CNN. “It is about all of us who lost our loved ones, in war. For once in your life, please stop making everything about you. For once in your life, at least pretend to know what empathy is.”