Since he came into office less than a year ago, it seems that United States president Donald Trump is constantly involved in controversy. The latest controversy surrounding Trump is that he did not seem to know the name of fallen U.S. soldier La David Johnson when speaking to his wife. As more details continue to be released, the lack of respect that Trump has for the widow and his family has become more apparent.
The conversation
This incident was first reported around a week ago when widow Myeisha Johnson expressed her disappointment about the president failing to express his condolences to her deceased husband.
It is tradition for the president to call the family of a soldier that is killed in order to offer condolences. This is usually a kind and respectful exchange between the family and highest leader of the country, but that's not what Johnson experienced.
Instead of expressing his sorrow and thankfulness for her husband's service, Trump told Johnson that her husband "knew what he signed up for." He went on to refer to the soldier as "your guy" instead of saying his name. This sparked a wave of controversy. From claims of disrespect to claims of racism, most would agree that the way Trump addressed Johnson wasn't appropriate.
This reaction to the death of a soldier does not seem to align with Trump's beliefs.
He claims to be an advocate of the flag and soldiers, as shown when he recently chastised the NFL players who took a knee during the national anthem. His reaction to Johnson fuels claims that he responded in this fashion due to racism.
Recently, Johnson has spoken out about the call in televised interviews, expressing how upset the president's reaction made her.
As reported by the New York Times, she expressed that Trump's reaction made her cry because of his tone of voice and the lack of empathy over her loss.
She also gave details on how the president only remembered her husband's name when the report with her husband's name on it was right in front of him. According to the New York Times, Johnson expressed how this hurt her even more, as she felt that her husband fought for the country and deserved the president's respect for his service.
Lies and denial
In multiple statements, Trump has denied the claims that he didn't know Sgt. La David Johnson's name. Trump's statements have been refuted multiple times, even by his own chief of staff John F. Kelly. Kelly has stated that he heard the entire exchange between Trump and Johnson, and that Trump did indeed make the comments he has been accused of. Trump continues to stick with the claim that he didn't address the soldier or his wife disrespectfully.
I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2017
The president, who is notoriously known for voicing his opinion over social media, took to Twitter to address this incident.
He tweeted that he had a respectful conversation with the widow, and that he knew the soldier's name from the start. Trump even went as far as claiming that the widow's story is completely fabricated.
Is it possible to recover?
Myeisha Johnson is still grieving the loss of her husband. She still hasn't been able to see her husbands body, nor is there a definitive answer as to why it took over 48 hours for her husband's body to be found. The situation that happened in Niger still poses a lot of questions, and is overall disheartening.
This is just another example of the bias and racism shown constantly by Donald Trump. There's no way to tell how much worse the political climate will become in the United States.
