Dem Congresswoman Accuses Trump of Being Insensitive to Grieving Military Widow
President Trump is under fire for a condolence call he made to the widow of Army Sergeant La David T. Johnson, who was killed in an ambush in Niger.
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., was with Myeshia Johnson and her two children as they waited at Miami International Airport for the transport plane to arrive carrying her husband's body. Wilson claims Trump told the widow that her husband "knew what he signed up for."
"I heard him say, 'Well I guess you know he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts.' And I couldn't believe that he said that," Wilson said.
The internet then lit up with outrage over the insensitivity of the comment.
The White House vehemently denies the president made the remark during the five-minute condolence call.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired Marine general whose own son was killed in combat, said he thought the president's statements to pregnant widow Myeshia Johnson were "completely appropriate and sensitive."
READ: Chief of Staff John Kelly Defends Trump's Phone Call, Opens Up about Son's Death
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also defended Trump's comments.
"The president's call as accounted by multiple people in the room believe that the president was completely respectful, sympathetic and expressed the condolences of himself and the rest of the country and thanked the family for their service, commended them for having an American hero," Sanders said.
The whole flap raises the question of what is appropriate to say to a person who's grieving, and what's the wrong thing to say.
Family therapist and author Dr. Linda Mintle weighs in on that topic below:
