Rep. Frederica Wilson accused President Donald Trump of telling Army. Sgt. La David Johnson’s widow that her husband “knew what he signed up for.”
(AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., made headlines this week after she accused President Trump of telling a fallen soldier’s widow in a phone call that the man “knew what he signed up for…but when it happens, it hurts anyway.”
Army Sgt. La David Johnson was killed in Niger earlier this month. Wilson says Trump made the comment to Johnson’s surviving wife, Myeshia Johnson, while the family was traveling to Miami International Airport to meet the fallen soldier’s body.
“Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
“I stand my account of the call with @realDonaldTrump and was not the only one who heard and was dismayed by his insensitive remarks,” the 74-year-old Florida politician wrote on Twitter.
What do we know about Wilson’s political career?
A former elementary school principal, Wilson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. She previously served in the Florida state Senate from 2002-2010 and the state House of Representatives from 1998-2002.
Her House of Representatives website lists several issues of concern, including education, gun violence, health care, immigration and jobs.
She says she’s against “Republican efforts to change Medicare from an entitlement to a voucher program for individuals aged 54 and under.”
When it comes to Social Security, Wilson says that she “will vote against any measure to privatize the program, cut benefits, or increase the eligibility age.”
This year, Wilson voted against the Republican health care bill, also known as the American Health Care Act of 2017.
In February 2015, she sponsored a bill that was introduced on what would have been Trayvon Martin’s 20th birthday. The bill called for the House to press “any State legislature to reject or repeal Stand Your Ground legislation.”
What about her personal life?
Her husband, Paul Wilson, died in 1988 after their three children were born, according to a Miami Herald profile.
In addition to her three children, Wilson also has five grandchildren, her House bio says.
She’s also spoken several times about her attire, specifically her penchant for wearing unique hats.
“It all started with my grandmother, whose name was Frederica also. She wore hats and gloves. I just wanted to be like her, so I started wearing hats. I just like to dress up, I guess, and I got that from her,” Wilson told Roll Call in 2012.
“I’ve never counted, but I’ve been wearing them almost 30 years,” Wilson told Politifact in 2010. “It’s almost like a fetish. … I have hundreds.”
TRUMP SAYS DEM REP ‘FABRICATED’ ACCOUNT OF CALL TO SOLDIER’S WIDOW, HAS ‘PROOF’
What’s going on with Wilson and Trump?
Army Sgt. La David Johnson and three other service members died in an Oct. 4 ambush in Niger. Islamic militants ambushed the soldiers.
Wilson claims she and Myeshia Johnson were in a car going to Miami International Airport to meet the body when Trump called. The fallen soldier’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the AP Wednesday that the congresswoman’s account was correct.
“Yes the statement is true,” Jones-Johnson said.
Aside from his Wednesday tweet, Trump also spoke about the matter, claiming Wednesday he “didn’t say what that congresswoman said, didn’t say it 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.”
“I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife who was – sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the congresswoman said, and most people aren’t too surprised to hear that,” he continued.
“I still stand by my account of the call b/t @realDonaldTrump and Myeshia Johnson. That is her name, Mr. Trump,” Wilson tweeted.
Wilson did not back down from her account, suggesting that Trump “never wants to take ownership” of a mistake.
“If you are the leader of the free world, if you are president of the United States and you want to convey sympathy to a grieving family, a grieving widow, you choose your words carefully,” Wilson told AP on Wednesday. “And everyone knows that Donald Trump does not choose his words carefully.”
“She was crying for the whole time,” Wilson said of the new widow. “And the worst part of it: when he hung up you know what she turned to me and said? She said he didn’t even remember his name.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
