Disputing the account of a slain soldier’s widow, President Trump said Wednesday that he spoke the soldier’s name correctly in a condolence call, and asserted that he has “one of the great memories of all time.”
“I was extremely nice to her,” Mr. Trump said of Myeshia Johnson, widow of Sgt. La David Johnson. “She sounds like a lovely lady. I respect her, I respect her family. I certainly respect La David, who by the way I called ’La David’ right from the beginning.”
Mrs. Johnson said during the phone call last week, Mr. Trump referred to her husband as “your guy,” and she believed the president didn’t know his name. She said the call made her more distraught.
Mr. Trump said when he makes such calls, his aides give him a reference chart bearing the names of the fallen soldiers.
“It says ’La David Johnson.’ There was no hesitation —[I have] one of the great memories of all time,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. “I think she’s a fantastic woman. I was extremely nice to her, extremely respectful.”
He called three other families of Green Berets killed in the Oct. 4 ambush in Niger, and told reporters, “You folks have called many people that I spoke to. Every one of them has said I couldn’t have been nicer. But you never report that.”
The president said the phone calls to families of the fallen are “all about condolence, it’s about warmth.”
“In many cases, you listen,” Mr. Trump said. “Honestly, they pour their heart out. It’s the hardest calls. I have such respect for those families. Nobody has more respect than I do, nobody.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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