Trump’s call to grieving widow has questionable tone

De Amor Crumb, Reporter/SCC

On Oct. 16 President Donald Trump placed a phone call to the grieving widow of Sgt. La David T. Johnson, who was killed on Oct. 4 in Niger.

The phone call soon ignited an outrage among Americans nationwide and caused immediate backlash at the White House this past Wednesday.

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson was present for the phone call to Myeshia Johnson and accused President Trump of disrespecting the wife of the fallen soldier and using a tone of voice that further upset the widow.

Going on she recalls Mr. Trump telling a grieving Johnson that her husband “knew what he signed up for” and referring to the Sgt. as “your guy” and not his name throughout the call.

Trump took to Twitter on Oct. 18 in an attempt to discredit the allegations of the congresswoman, Tweeting,

“Democratic congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!”

Congresswoman Wilson wrote back, standing by her account of the call and informing Mr. Trump of the wife’s name.

The widow of Sgt. La David T. Johnson then went to Facebook to corroborate her accounts, posting,

“Yes, he did state that comment.”

Trump’s remarks caused the nation to address the issue of how presidents deal with the loss of a soldier and the level of respect it requires to consol.

All the while Trump’s comments in the past week, suggesting that previous presidents neglected to contact the families of the fallen troops, have loomed in the media.

To counter the negative comments Trump allegedly made to Mrs. Johnson, a GoFundMe page was created for the college education of Sgt. Johnson’s children, making headway with over 400,000 raised in just two days.

Jada King, a student at Scottsdale Community college donated to the fund and recalls what it means for people to give back to someone who gave so much.

“I think it’s amazing, and it goes to show how the people feel about that, and that they are there to support when our President isn’t,” King said.