President Donald Trump’s “proof” seemed to grow more elusive Wednesday afternoon after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a briefing that there was no recording of his call with the fallen soldier’s wife but that there were many people in the room. The Miami Gardens congresswoman who felt the president was insensitive, the White House said, “is trying to politicize the call to the widow.”
.@PressSec says there’s no recording of the call with fallen soldier’s wife but many people in the room
— Anita Kumar (@anitakumar01) October 18, 2017
Trump accused U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson of lying about his conversation with fallen Miami Gardens soldier Sgt. La David T. Johnson’s widow — and he had proof, he tweeted.
“Democratic Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!,” he tweeted Wednesday morning.
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Wilson, the Democratic congresswoman and educator from South Florida who had mentored Johnson and his siblings, blasted back that she was in a car full of people and she overheard the president tell Myeshia Johnson “he knew what he signed up for” on speakerphone.
Sgt. La David Johnson, was killed Oct. 4 in an ambush in Niger. His body was returned to Miami Gardens Oct. 17 for burial.
U.S. Army Special Operations Command
“I wasn’t in the car by myself. I’ll fight Mr. Trump toe to toe. He’s fighting the wrong one now. He doesn’t need to start up anything with me. He said what he said and he needs to call her and say he’s sorry and go on and run the country before he takes us to war. He spends too much time on stuff that doesn’t have to do with running this country,” Wilson said.
More: Trump and Congresswoman Wilson in war of words
More: “He knew what he signed up for,” congresswoman said president told widow
Call it a classic case of he said/she said.
Trump’s chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, Sanders said, is “disgusted” by the way the issue of contacting fallen soldiers has been politicized and that “he was fine with Trump’s call to the fallen soldier’s wife.” Trump told reporters that he “had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who sounded like a lovely woman.”
.@PressSec says General Kelly is “disgusted” by the way the issue of contacting fallen soldiers has been politicized
— Anita Kumar (@anitakumar01) October 18, 2017
Wilson, however, said there was no conversation. “He did all the talking. She didn’t say nothing except when he got ready to hang up she said he was calling him, ‘Your guy.’ He didn’t even know his name. That’s what he said. ‘Your guy. Your guy.’”
As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump has not made his proof known to the public.
Howard Cohen: 305-376-3619, @HowardCohen
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