Trump: Dem congresswoman 'totally fabricated what I said' to soldier's widow Rep. Frederica Wilson defends her statement that Trump told the widow that her husband 'knew what he signed up for.'

President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused a Democratic congresswoman of having "fabricated" an account of what he told the widow of a fallen soldier — that her husband "knew what he signed up for” — escalating the furor over the proper treatment of Gold Star families.

“Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!” Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday morning.


The congresswoman, Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), said Trump was “a liar” and that she and four witnesses overheard Trump on speakerphone say to the widow of Army Sgt. La David Johnson that “he knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens, it hurts anyway."

“The sad part about it is, he didn’t know La David’s name,” Wilson told POLITICO. “He kept calling him ‘your guy.’ Your guy did this. Your guy did that. Nobody cares about Mr. Trump. He’s not beloved. He’s not revered. So they don’t care. But I care. ... The conversation in my community is that he is a jerk. He’s not a real president."

Wilson called Trump’s remarks “insane” and “insensitive … everyone knows when you go to war, you could possibly not come back alive. But you don’t remind a grieving widow of that. That’s so insensitive."

Johnson's mother, in an exchange with The Washington Post on Facebook Messenger, confirmed Wilson's version of the conversation and said, "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband."

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It's unclear what Trump was referring to in his tweet when he said he has "proof" of his comments. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said later Wednesday that the White House did not have a recording of the call but that there had been others from the administration, including chief of staff John Kelly, who had been on the call and could be in position to confirm the president's account.

Trump, in a brief exchange with the White House press pool, remained insistent that Wilson had fabricated her account, twice repeating to reporters "let her make her statement again and then you’ll find out."

"Didn't say what that congresswoman said. Didn't say it at all. She knows it. And she now is not saying it. I did not say what she said. And I'd like her to make the statement again because I did not say what she said," Trump explained. "I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife who sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the congresswoman said and most people aren't too surprised to hear that."

Wilson quickly responded to the president via Twitter, writing that "I still stand by my account of the call b/t @realDonaldTrump and Myesha Johnson. That is her name, Mr. Trump. Not 'the woman' or 'the wife.'"

Wilson later told POLITICO that “I stand by my words and that is true."

"It’s becoming exhausting," she said. "I mean, what the hell? Everybody knows that Mr. Trump is a liar. That is it. Boom. Bam. There is no question about it … He is a liar. The only person he cares about is himself. What can I say? I can waste time talking about this man all day long. And it’s not going to change him. He doesn’t know how to be president.”

Trump's dispute with Wilson is further fueling controversy over the president's treatment of Gold Star families, one that dates back to Trump's feud with Khizr Khan, who spoke out against him at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Trump reignited the issue on Monday when he defended himself against criticism that he had not yet called the families of four soldiers killed earlier this month in Niger, including Johnson. During his defense, Trump accused previous presidents — specifically former President Barack Obama — of not regularly calling the families of soldiers killed in action.

Wilson said the conversation was overheard by her, her aide, the widow's aunt and uncle, and a military aide traveling with Johnson's family. Wilson told CNN that she asked the military aide whether she could speak to the president but was refused. If she had gotten on the phone with Trump, Wilson told CNN, "you know what, I think I was going to curse him out."

"Well, I don't know what kind of proof he could be talking about," she said. "I'm not the only person that was in the car. And I have proof, too. This man is a sick man. He's cold-hearted and he feels no pity or sympathy for anyone. This is a grieving widow, a grieving widow who is six months pregnant."

Sanders, at her Wednesday press briefing, declined to speak with reporters about the specific language Trump used in his call with Myesha Johnson and did not outright deny that the president had said the sergeant "knew what he signed up for." She did say that multiple people, including Kelly, who were in the room for Trump's call with the widow "believe that the president was completely respectful, very sympathetic and expressed the condolences of himself and the rest of the country." Sanders said it was "appalling" how Wilson had "politicized" Johnson's death.

"I'm not going to get into the back and forth. I think that the sentiment of the president was very clear," the press secretary said. "He took the time to make a call to express his condolences to thank the family for this individual's service, and I think it frankly is a disgrace of the media to try to portray an act of kindness like that and that gesture and to try to make it into something that it isn't."

Johnson was one of four soldiers killed earlier this month in Niger in an ambush by Islamic State militants. The 25-year-old was initially listed as missing and his body was not recovered until two days after the initial attack.

Wilson said she has sought additional details surrounding his death but was told such information could only be given in a classified briefing once she returns to Washington.

"His transmitter was still beeping. And it seems as if they could have found him," she said. "This may wind up to be Mr. Trump's Benghazi. So he needs to investigate this very, very closely. Because I will be making sure that Congress does that."

Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) said President Donald Trump was “a liar” and that she and four witnesses overheard Trump on speakerphone say to the widow of Army Sgt. La David Johnson that “he knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens, it hurts anyway." | Alan Diaz/AP Photo

Trump had been publicly silent on the four soldiers' deaths until Monday, when he was asked about them during a Rose Garden press conference. Trump said he had written letters to the families of the deceased soldiers and that he had plans to call them as well.

The president managed to further stir controversy on Tuesday when he suggested that Kelly, his chief of staff, had not received a call from Obama when his son, a Marine, was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.

For Wilson, the matter with Trump was personal because Sgt. Johnson was a graduate of her 5000 Role Models of Excellence program, designed to help disadvantaged African-American boys have a shot at an education in the Miami area. She said Johnson, his brothers and his cousins all graduated from the program. One of Johnson’s brothers has a full scholarship to Bethune Cookman College as a result of the program, and another is attending the state’s fire college to become a firefighter.

“When I saw the headline that a young man was killed in Niger from Carol City, I thought, My God, please don’t let it be a role model. And it was,” Wilson said.

Johnson’s mother died when he was 5, Wilson said, and he was raised by a couple in the community who adopted him as their son. He viewed them as his mom and dad, Wilson said.

“He played football and loved bikes," she said. "And he loved the woman who raised him. Even when he was in Africa, he would call her every morning to say he loved her. Even after he was married and had two children, he would still call her and still say that. And she knew when he didn’t call that something had happened. She knew immediately.”

