Nearly three weeks after her husband’s death, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson has broken her silence on President Donald Trump’s disastrous condolence call.
Speaking on Good Morning America, Myeshia Johnson explained that she was already “very upset” and that the President’s phone call “made me cry even worse.”
"[I was] very upset and hurt. It made me cry even worse." – Myeshia Johnson, widow of Sgt. La David Johnson to @GStephanopoulos pic.twitter.com/JguNqTaYa3
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 23, 2017
Read the full transcript of the interview here.
Controversy erupted last week after it was revealed that, during a condolence call, Trump stated that Sgt. Johnson “must have known what he signed up for.” This story was corroborated by Johnson’s aunt.
The remarks made by the President were deeply insensitive and likely to be the last thing a grieving widow wants to hear.
It would probably be a good idea to keep the President as far away as possible from duties that require empathy or any degree of tact, of which he seems entirely incapable.
Sgt. Johnson was killed on October 4th when militants linked to the Islamic State ambushed a group of Green Berets in the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger.
The Green Berets are deployed in Niger to train local forces to help the fight against Islamic extremism. Three other U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack as well as at least a dozen militants.
This is not the first time Trump has made a gaffe involving a war widow. During a speech to Congress, Donald Trump politicised the death of Navy Seal William Owens, who died during the botched Yemen raid, and singled out his wife in the crowd to the applause of those in attendance.
The President then joked that Owens would have been happy with that applause because, according to Trump, “I think he just broke a record.” Owens would probably have been happier alive and with his family, rather than having a President use his death to score cheap political points.
Trump’s behavior when it comes to veterans and their families speaks volumes about what he really thinks of the military. Instead of thanking Mrs. Johnson for her family’s sacrifice, Trump reminded her that risk was a part of her late husband’s job, as if that was supposed to make her feel better.
Trump is perfectly happy to use the military to make himself look good, but when it’s time to do his duty as Commander in Chief the President consistently falls short.
Suffice to say that Donald Trump’s lack of empathy is deeply disturbing.
