Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson (Fla.) revealed intimate details of Sgt. La David Johnson's widow's grief, called President Donald Trump a "liar," and said he is trying to cover up his own "Benghazi" in a raucous appearance Wednesday on "The View."
Sgt. Johnson was one of four American soldiers recently killed in an ambush in Niger, and Trump telephoned his widow, Myeshia, on Tuesday. According to Wilson, Myeshia was distraught because Trump did not appear to remember her husband's name and had a flippant tone.
He "was almost like joking," Wilson told MSNBC on Wednesday. "He said, 'Well, I guess you knew'—something to the effect that 'he knew what he was getting into when he signed up, but I guess it hurts anyway.'"
Wilson told "The View" that Myeshia was "crumpled up in a ball. She weighs maybe 103 pounds. She's six months pregnant. She had just found out that her husband would not be able to have an open casket funeral because of the condition of the body, so she was grief-stricken."
Wilson has stated she was "livid" upon hearing Trump's words to Johnson's widow and wanted to take the phone at one point to "curse" out the president. After rehashing the conversation, host Joy Behar noted Trump has stated Wilson's account of the conversation was a fabrication.
"President Trump is a liar," she said, adding that if Trump had a tape of the conversation, "bring it on."
"The View" audience cheered wildly, and new co-host Meghan McCain said she was uncomfortable with the cheering during the discussion of a fallen soldier.
"This was a private call between a widow and the president," McCain said. "Why did you feel the need to speak out, and do you think at any point she will confirm or deny what you're saying right now?"
Wilson said she merely told local media after the car ride that Trump told Myeshia that her husband knew "what he had signed up for," which attracted widespread attention Tuesday evening.
Wilson then became even more heated, saying the Niger incident was Trump's "Benghazi," a reference to the deadly consulate attack that killed four Americans in Libya in 2012.
"This whole thing about what he said to the widow is a cover-up!" Wilson shouted.
As she kept shouting about Sgt. Johnson's admirable qualities, host Whoopi Goldberg tried to calm her down and said, "he is a hero," ending the interview.
Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Washington Post on Wednesday that she was in the car during the call and said "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband."