President Donald Trump said he couldn’t have stumbled trying to recall slain soldier La David Johnson’s name when making a condolence call to his widow because he has ‘one of the great memories of all time.’
The president called Myeshia Johnson, whose husband La David Johnson got killed in a firefight in Niger Oct. 4, a ‘lovely lady,’ even as he disputed her recollection of the call that set off an ongoing controversy.
The president also revealed that staff had placed a chart of information in front of him during the condolence call, bolstering his contention that he could not have forgotten Johnson’s name.
‘Just so you understand, they put a chart in front,’ Trump told reporters on the South lawn of the White House before flying to Dallas.
President Donald Trump talks with reporters as he departs the Oval Office of the White House for Dallas, in Washington D.C. He claimed he had ‘one of the great memories of all time’ and denied stumbling over the name of a fallen soldier in a condolence call
‘I can only say this. I was really nice to her. I respect her. I respect her family. I certainly respect La David, who I by the way called ‘La David’ right from the beginning.’
Trump continued to defend himself. ‘Just so you understand, they put a chart in front: La David. Says La David Johnson. So, I call right from the beginning, there’s no hesitation.’
Then he credited his own memory. ‘One of the great memories of all time. There was no hesitation. I think she’s a fantastic woman. I was extremely nice to her. Extremely respectful,’ the president said.
Trump called family members of four slain soldiers after saying at a press conference last week that he always calls family members in such cases and claiming that President Obama didn’t make condolence calls. It was later revealed that Trump had not called families of all troops killed during his term, and prior presidents reached out to families in various ways.
Myeshia Johnson (pictured), the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, said Monday on Good Morning America that President Donald Trump couldn’t remember his late husband’s name during a condolence call
Trump spoke at length about his call to Myeshia Johnson following the death of her husband in action in Niger
Trump fielded questions on a range of topics Wednesday
Trump said he was presented with a chart containing information about slain Sgt. La David Johson
Mindful of getting into another spat with the pregnant widow and mother, the president repeatedly complimented Myeshia, though not by name, on Wednesday.
She told ABC News in an emotional interview that aired this week: ‘I heard him stumbling on trying to remember my husband’s name and that’s what hurt me the most.’
The interview prompted Trump to get into a twitter war with her, tweeting Monday that he spoke Johnson’s name ‘without hesitation.’
Trump tweeted that he had a ‘very respectful conversation’ and said Sgt. Johnson’s name ‘without hesitation!’
‘I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Army Specialist Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!’ he tweeted after the interview ended
He added on Wednesday: ‘I was extremely nice to her. She sounds like a lovely lady. I’ve never seen her. I’ve never met her. But she sounds like a lovely lady. But I was extremely nice to her.’
‘I was extremely courteous as I was to everyone else. You know it’s interesting. You folks have called many people that I spoke to. Everybody has said unbelievable good things about me, but you never report that. Did you report it? Did you report it?
Explaining the call, Trump said: ‘I would say basically we talked condolence. I mean, it’s all about condolence. It’s about warmth. In many cases you listen.’
‘One of the families they were saying yes he was a great football star,’ Trump said, referencing an earlier condolence call that was videotaped and aired on television.
He was likely referring to his April call to Natasha De Alencar, whose husband, Staff Sgt. Mark R. De Alencar, was killed in Afghanistan. Trump and the widow traded compliments about her eldest son’s football prowess.
Trump told the press: ‘Look, you people have called many people that I’ve spoken to. And every one of them has said I couldn’t have been nicer. Now, it’s a rough time … I mean how tough is it? There’s nothing tougher. But I have such respect for those families. Nobody has more respect than I do. Nobody.’
Wilson is a family friend of the Johnsons, and was in a limousine with the Gold Star widow and her family on the way to the airport to pick up the soldier’s body when Trump made the call.
Johnson confirmed Wilson’s version of events on Monday.
Sgt. Johnson (pictured) was one of four soldiers killed in an ISIS ambush in Niger earlier this month
‘Whatever Ms Wilson said was not fabricated. What she said was 100 per cent correct,’ Johnson said. ‘The phone was on speakerphone. Why would we fabricate something like that?’
Johnson said her aunt, her uncle, a master sergeant and Wilson were with her in the car when Trump called the master sergeant .
The call came as they pulled onto the tarmac at Dover Dover Air Force Base to pick up Sgt. Johnson’s body, his widow said.
Johnson said she asked the master sergeant to put the phone on speakerphone so that everyone in the car could hear Trump.
‘The president said “He knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway”,’ Johnson recalled.
‘It made me cry because I was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said it.
‘He couldn’t remember my husband’s name. The only way he remembered my husband’s name was because he told me he had my husband’s report in front of him, and that’s when he actually said “La David.”