Ms Wilson, who represents a Florida district,\u00a0told CNN\u00a0the president’s call had been made shortly before Sgt Johnson’s coffin arrived by aircraft in his home city of Miami.<\/p>\n
Ms Wilson told WPLG, a Miami TV station, she had heard the president’s “so insensitive” remarks to the widow on speakerphone in a limousine.<\/p>\n
“To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn’t say that to a grieving widow,” she said.<\/p>\n
“And everyone knows when you go to war, you could possibly not come back alive. But you don’t remind a grieving widow of that.”<\/p>\n
Former Nato commander: Trump must be ‘consoler-in-chief’<\/p>\n Ms Wilson told the Washington Post that Ms Johnson, who is expecting the couple’s third child, had broken down in tears after the conversation.<\/p>\n “He made her cry,” Ms Wilson said.<\/p>\n The congresswoman told the newspaper that she had wanted to grab the phone and “curse him out”, but an army sergeant who was holding the handset would not let her speak to the president.<\/p>\n Ms Johnson responded to Mr Trump’s denial by\u00a0tweeting: “I still stand by my account of the call b\/t @realDonaldTrump and Myeshia Johnson. That is her name, Mr Trump. Not “the woman” or “the wife”.<\/p>\n She later issued a\u00a0statement\u00a0saying she did not wish to “engage in a petty war of words with Mr Trump” but again standing by everything she had said.<\/p>\n How did Trump respond?<\/strong><\/p>\n The president tweeted on Wednesday morning: “Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!”<\/p>\n A White House official said Mr Trump’s conversations with the families of dead servicemen were private.<\/p>\n Mr Trump later told reporters: “I did not say what she [Ms Wilson] said… I had a very nice conversation.”<\/p>\n When asked about what “proof” he could offer, Mr Trump said: “Let her make her statement again, then you will find out.”<\/p>\n Later, at a White House briefing, press secretary Sarah Sanders condemned Ms Wilson who she said had “politicised” the issue.<\/p>\n “This was a president who loves our country very much, who has the greatest level of respect for men and women in the uniform and wanted to call and offer condolences to the family.<\/p>\n “And I think to try and create something from that… is frankly appalling and disgusting.”<\/p>\n Consoler-in-chief?<\/strong><\/p>\n By Anthony Zurcher, senior North America reporter, BBC News<\/strong><\/p>\n In US politics, nothing is off-limits any more.<\/p>\n After (inaccurately) swiping at his predecessors for not calling the family members of US soldiers killed in combat, Mr Trump is on the defensive over allegations he mishandled a call with a grieving widow.<\/p>\n The accuser is a partisan Democratic congresswoman and the president, not surprisingly, is pushing back hard. This controversy is spiralling towards the gutter.<\/p>\n Mr Trump made this bed, however. He was quick to cite the slain son of chief of staff John Kelly to justify his contention that Barack Obama didn’t always make phone calls. Then there were the disparaging comments candidate Mr Trump made last summer about the parents of a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq.<\/p>\n The more this story drags on – and it will drag on – the more damage it could do to a president who wraps himself in the symbols of patriotism and the military, but is in danger of being viewed by the public as lacking empathy when it counts most.<\/p>\n An important presidential role is consoler-in-chief during times of tragedy. Successful politicians learn early that they need a human touch.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The mother of a US soldier who was killed in action has backed a congresswoman’s claim that President Donald Trump showed insensitivity during a phone call to her son’s widow. Representative Frederica Wilson said he had told Myeshia Johnson: “He knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway.” Mr Trump […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Sgt](\"https:\/\/ichef-1.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/42DD\/production\/_98371171_compo2.jpg\")
<\/span>Sgt Johnson’s widow with his coffin at Miami International Airport<\/figure>\n![\"presentational](\"https:\/\/ichef-1.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/media\/images\/75306000\/jpg\/_75306515_line976.jpg\")
<\/span><\/figure>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/ichef-1.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/4AC0\/production\/_98363191_12211405-71f7-4996-ae73-1fac58852434.jpg\")
<\/span><\/figure>\n