President Trump blasted Rep. Frederica Wilson in a tweet Thursday night, calling her “wacky” and accusing the Florida Democrat of lying about the content of his phone call with the family of a fallen soldier.
“The Fake News is going crazy with wacky Congresswoman Wilson(D), who was SECRETLY on a very personal call, and gave a total lie on content!” Trump tweeted.
Trump has faced major backlash for comments he is said to have made to the widow of a solider who was killed in an attack in Niger earlier this month.
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Wilson said earlier this week that Trump told the widow of Army Sgt. La David Johnson that Johnson “knew what he signed up for … but when it happens it hurts anyway.”
Trump pushed back on her account of the call on Wednesday, but Johnson’s mother confirmed Wilson’s account and said she felt disrespected by the president.
On Thursday, White House chief of staff John Kelly defended Trump’s handling of the call, saying during the White House press briefing that he was “stunned” by Wilson’s actions.
“It stuns me that a member of Congress would have listened in on that conversation. Absolutely stuns me. I would have thought that was sacred,” said Kelly, who is himself a Gold Star father.
After Kelly’s remarks, a spokesperson for Wilson said she wouldn’t respond again, saying “the focus should be on helping a grieving widow and family heal.”