Soldier’s widow criticizes president
Commander-in-chief exacerbates tragedy with new tweet
WASHINGTON — The widow of one of four soldiers killed in Niger went on television Monday to criticize President Donald Trump for how he spoke to her during a condolence call last week, drawing a swift denial from Trump, who breathed new life into a bitter controversy that has transformed a tragedy into a political feud.
Myeshia Johnson, whose husband, Sgt. La David T. Johnson, was killed early this month in an attack that is under investigation by the U.S. military, said the president had blundered through the condolence call he made to her last week, only deepening her grief because he did not seem to know her husband’s name.
“The president said, ‘He knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway,’ ” Johnson said during an interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos. “It made me cry because I was very angry at the tone in his voice and how he said it.”
She said Trump’s memory seemed to falter during their exchange.
“He couldn’t remember my husband’s name,” Johnson said. “The only way he remembered my husband’s name is because he told me he had my husband’s report in front of him and that’s when he actually said ‘La David.’ I heard him stumbling on trying to remember my husband’s name. And that’s what hurt me the most because if my husband is out here fighting for our country, and he risked his life for our country, why can’t you remember his name?”
Last week, Trump denied saying that Johnson had known what he signed up for, but John Kelly, the president’s chief of staff — and who is himself the father of a Marine killed in action — told reporters that Trump had said those words.
Kelly said that this message had provided solace to him when he received the news of his son’s death.
On Monday, even as White House officials conceded privately that they had to find a way to move beyond the episode, Trump refused to back down, posting a message on Twitter that contradicted Johnson’s account after her interview was broadcast.
“I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!” Trump said in his message.
The president’s response seemed certain to keep alive the extraordinary squabble, which erupted a week ago when Trump was asked about the deadly ambush in Niger and asserted wrongly that previous presidents had not called the families of U.S. troops killed in action. He then proceeded to call relatives of the soldiers killed in Niger, only to have Rep. Frederica S. Wilson, D-Fla., who listened to Trump’s conversation with Johnson, criticize the president publicly for his words.
On Monday, Johnson supported Wilson, who has been feuding with both Trump and Kelly over the call.
“Whatever Ms. Wilson said was not fabricated,” Johnson said. “What she said was 100 percent correct.”
Johnson said that on the call, she let Trump do most of the talking as her anger grew. When asked if she wanted to say anything to Trump, the young widow decided against delivering a message.
She did, however, say that she was desperate to know more details about the disappearance and death of her husband, and described him as “caring.” The couple had known each other since she was 6 years old.
“I want to know why it took them 48 hours to find my husband,” Johnson said.
She also shared a deep concern over not being allowed to view her husband’s remains.
“They won’t show me a finger, a hand,” she said. “I know my husband’s body from head to toe and they won’t let me see anything,” she said. “I need to see my husband.”
After a service member is killed on the battlefield, the military’s mortuary affairs personnel often do everything they can to prepare the deceased for a potential viewing. In some cases, however, if the wounds are too grievous or the body is extremely disfigured, the military might suggest that the coffin remain sealed.
Tech. Sgt. Holly Roberts-Davis, who is in charge of public affairs at Dover Air Force Base’s mortuary affairs division, said that families were not allowed to see the remains of their loved ones until after the body is inspected and cleared by the division’s medical examiner. Once that is complete, the family is free to open the coffin.
On Monday, Johnson also pushed back against Kelly’s criticism of Wilson for hearing the call. The widow said she had asked the military official accompanying her family to put the call from Trump on speakerphone so others could also hear his words.
Several women from the Congressional Black Caucus also wrote a letter demanding an apology from Kelly.