Fallen soldier's widow 'very angry' about Trump's call, says he 'couldn't remember' husband's name

[txradioguy]

Trump didn’t start this – congresswoman Wilson did by listening in to what should have been a private call and then spreading a false narrative impugning the president.

For the president to remain silent would not have been classy, it would have been clueless. Trump knew Wilson was running a scam and using this occasion of a solemn conversation to spread lies.

Look, it’s been two years, you all must know by now Trump always punches back when he’s attacked first.

I hope he never stops fighting back.

He could have just as easily taken the high road and left this idiot Congresswoman sitting there looking like..an idiot.

Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all.

[Right_in_Virginia]

I am not going to condemn this woman..there by the Grace of God go I..

She is being used.....her grief and anger being taken advantage of.

And I don't give a flying F'k who she voted for! 

I'm not condemning her @mystery-ak ... I'm accepting that she is now a part of this.  I am sorry for her loss, and there but by the grace of God go I, too --- more times than I care to say.

While it's certainly your right not to give a flying F'k who she voted for, it ignores the political motivation at the root of this firestorm.   So I think it certainly matters.   

[RoosGirl]

Wait, I see nothing dumb about this tweet?

 "I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!” Trump wrote on Twitter, referencing one of the Green Berets killed earlier this month in an ambush in Niger.

He doesn't attack the widow, simply makes a true statement.

@Emjay
“Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!” he wrote in an early-morning Twitter post.

This is what escalated the whole thing.

[DiogenesLamp]

More smoke.

The real stories are Clinton - Uranium One, the Las Vegas shootings and North Korea

But let's focus all media attention on parsing what Trump might have (or not have) said.

The Greatest power of the media-weapon is the ability to censor or ignore stories which the public should know. 

[txradioguy]

I'm not condemning her @mystery-ak ... I'm accepting that she is now a part of this.  I am sorry for her loss, and there but by the grace of God go I, too --- more times than I care to say.

While it's certainly your right not to give a flying F'k who she voted for, it ignores the political motivation at the root of this firestorm.   So I think it certainly matters.   

You were piling on.  It's unbecoming...even for you.

And by injecting politics into your thinking on this you're no better than the Dems who are using this as a political football.

Show some class.

[Right_in_Virginia]

@Emjay
“Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!” he wrote in an early-morning Twitter post.

This is what escalated the whole thing.

Do you really think the democrats and the media were prepared to drop this?  Seriously.   

[Right_in_Virginia]

You were piling on.  It's unbecoming...even for you.

And by injecting politics into your thinking on this you're no better than the Dems who are using this as a political football.

Show some class.

Oh, please.  Virtue signaling even here @txradioguy ?

That's unbecoming ... even for you.

[DiogenesLamp]

You were piling on.  It's unbecoming...even for you.

And by injecting politics into your thinking on this you're no better than the Dems who are using this as a political football.

Show some class.

Yes,  just lose with dignity as the Country Club class always counsels.   Don't put up a fight and shove this stuff right back in their faces.   Just capitulate with grace.   

[corbe]

This.

I do not believe that whatever Trump actually said was intended to be disrespectful to or painful for this woman.  There was a way for him to clarify himself and present his side of the story without stepping into the mud with dumbass Frederica.  We all know this to be true from interacting with each other here.  There's a way to disagree with each other and make our own point without things turning to shit;  we make the choice with the words we use and the words we don't use.  The leader of the free world does not have the luxury of being anything but impeccable with his choice of words.

   Brilliant @RoosGirl this is lost on just a few here, thanks for sharing.   

   There are a few NT'ers here that are much hated and argued with constantly (I don't consider myself a part of that small group), though I could be wrong.  In my feeble mind the few AT'ers here that I'm not to particularly fond of usually always have my respect as fellow Briefers. It reminds me of Thanksgiving Dinner with my Trump loving Family, they Love to Hate me and the vigorous debate is always entertaining and enlightening. If there was a point I was trying to make it got lost in this smoky haze.

[RoosGirl]

Do you really think the democrats and the media were prepared to drop this?  Seriously.   

Why are you saying I suggested such a thing?

[Concerned]

Trump didn’t start this – congresswoman Wilson did by listening in to what should have been a private call and then spreading a false narrative impugning the president.

For the president to remain silent would not have been classy, it would have been clueless. Trump knew Wilson was running a scam and using this occasion of a solemn conversation to spread lies.

Look, it’s been two years, you all must know by now Trump always punches back when he’s attacked first.

I hope he never stops fighting back.

I think the family should be able to include anyone they want in the phone call.  Having said that though, the outrage over this situation is entirely predictable as it spirals further out of political control.  Last week, I encouraged the President to quickly put a stop to it by issuing a statement like the following:

During my call with the family of American hero, Sgt. Johnson, I tried to express my appreciation for the courage Sgt. Johnson exhibited when he signed up for such a dangerous profession.  If I said anything during that call, to offend or appear to disrespect Sgt. Johnson or his family, I sincerely apologize, and that was clearly not my intention.  The nation treasures it’s fallen heroes and the sacrifice made by each of their families.

Had the President issued a statement like that, every new question could be referenced back to that statement.  There would be no need for any more tweets from the President, no need to answer any new questions, just let the statement speak for itself.  Let the widow and the Congresswoman do and say whatever they wanted – they would then be the ones exclusively politicizing this.  If someone thought the President offended or disrespected anyone, he would have made it clear that wasn’t his intention, but that he apologized (and took the high ground along the way).  That should have been the last word from the White House on this, but instead, we’ve got continued back and forth, just as the President likes:

Tune in tomorrow to see his latest tweet.  WooHoo!  Did you know he has 41M followers?  WooHoo, 41M followers!  A fight with a Gold Star widow!  WooHoo, keep fighting Mr. President.  Meanwhile 4 US soldiers are dead, and we have a US Congresswoman and the Commander in Chief BOTH politicizing it.  Sad.

[ConservativeGranny]

 

[txradioguy]

Yes,  just lose with dignity as the Country Club class always counsels.   Don't put up a fight and shove this stuff right back in their faces.   Just capitulate with grace.

This isn't an argument over some political issue or who's better Trump or Hillary or any of the tinfoil over the media you love to dive into.

We're talking about a brother soldier...his family...his team members who survived and the ramifications and second and third order consequences a stupid meaningless spitball fight like this will have for the for the parents of this fallen soldier...for his wife and for their child.

This is a real life person who is now dead...it's the real world...and some of us need to snap the hell BACK into it.


Look I know for some of you this is just fun political fisticuffs...but it's not for me.  There are certain times you (not you specifically) just need to SFTU and remove yourself from the scrum.  There is a dead soldier who yes did know what he was signing up for...as we all do (myself included)...is this woman being used...yes...does it matter who she voted for? F*ck no.  She should have voted for Obama every day of the week and twice and Hillary twice on Sundays and it still would change the fact she is now part of a small fraternity that is a reality of military life.

At some point when the grief is manageable, when her child is born and wants to know who his/her dad was and what he was about...there needs to be something they can cling to that shows that in the midst of all the turmoil...in the midst of all the grief and buck passing...someone had the class and grace to stand above the fray...because that child...that grieving widow are going to need that to hold onto sometime in the future.

That someone should be his Commander-in-Chief.

Some of you can go ahead and use this soldiers death as a cheap political prop like Rep Wilson is...continue to argue who said what first and continue to fixate on who she voted for...you're no better than that idiot Congresswoman.

There is a time and a place to fight back against the stupidity of the left and there is a time to step up and lead by example and show some class and grace.

Right now there seems to be too much of the former and not enough by the latter...by EVERYONE involved.

[240B]

He could have just as easily taken the high road and left this idiot Congresswoman sitting there looking like..an idiot.
Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all.

I have posted those words and that insight about Trump as well.
One of Trump's biggest weaknesses, and the Dems and the media both know it, is that he cannot do nothing. He is incapable of letting an obvious goad go unanswered.


A Democrat could post something like, "Trump is a doo-doo head!" And Trump would respond about how he is not now and never has been a 'doo-doo' head. "No. You are a doo-doo head!" And then the back and forth starts, and some stupid relatively meaningless thing, winds up dominating the news for a week or two.


Trump is great at playing others, and we have several examples of him successfully doing just that. That is what makes it so odd that he can't seem to see when people are goading and playing with him.


By responding to the clown Black woman in the funny hat, he brings himself and his office down to her level of silliness and stupidity. He shouldn't be an ostrich like GW was, but he does need to learn how to choose his battles.

[edpc]

Wait, I see nothing dumb about this tweet?

 "I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!” Trump wrote on Twitter, referencing one of the Green Berets killed earlier this month in an ambush in Niger.

He doesn't attack the widow, simply makes a true statement.

Fantastic.  I wasn't referring to that one and I'm pretty sure I was specific in an earlier post.

[DiogenesLamp]

By responding to the clown Black woman in the funny hat, he brings himself and his office down to her level of silliness and stupidity. He shouldn't be an ostrich like GW was, but he does need to learn how to choose his battles.

What he has been doing,  works for him.   I think he should trust his instincts and keep doing what he does.   


For some reason that D@mned fool just keeps winning!   

[txradioguy]

I have posted those words and that insight about Trump as well.
One of Trump's biggest weaknesses, and the Dems and the media both know it, is that he cannot do nothing. He is incapable of letting an obvious goad go unanswered.


A Democrat could post something like, "Trump is a doo-doo head!" And Trump would respond about how he is not now and never has been a 'doo-doo' head. "No. You are a doo-doo head!" And then the back and forth starts, and some stupid relatively meaningless thing, winds up dominating the news for a week or two.


Trump is great at playing others, and we have several examples of him successfully doing just that. That is what makes it so odd that he can't seem to see when people are goading and playing with him.


By responding to the clown Black woman in the funny hat, he brings himself and his office down to her level of silliness and stupidity. He shouldn't be an ostrich like GW was, but he does need to learn how to choose his battles.

Well said.  Agree completely.

[RoosGirl]

   Brilliant @RoosGirl this is lost on just a few here, thanks for sharing.   

   There are a few NT'ers here that are much hated and argued with constantly (I don't consider myself a part of that small group), though I could be wrong.  In my feeble mind the few AT'ers here that I'm not to particularly fond of usually always have my respect as fellow Briefers. It reminds me of Thanksgiving Dinner with my Trump loving Family, they Love to Hate me and the vigorous debate is always entertaining and enlightening. If there was a point I was trying to make it got lost in this smoky haze.

I've started calling them NeverRoosGirlies.   

[mystery-ak]

By responding to the clown Black woman in the funny hat, he brings himself and his office down to her level of silliness and stupidity. He shouldn't be an ostrich like GW was, but he does need to learn how to choose his battles.

Bravo

[Night Hides Not]

Yes,  just lose with dignity as the Country Club class always counsels.   Don't put up a fight and shove this stuff right back in their faces.   Just capitulate with grace.

One would think that an expert in playing six dimensional chess could win by being smarter, and classier than his or her opponent.

My goodness, I just walked into an apt description of Ronald Reagan!   

[Night Hides Not]

What he has been doing,  works for him.   I think he should trust his instincts and keep doing what he does.   


For some reason that D@mned fool just keeps winning!

It may work for Trump, but is it really working for the country? I'm worn out from the constant bickering and inaction on a host of legislative matters.

No doubt, some good things have been done, but most of us expected more from Republican majorities in the House, Senate, and WH.

[edpc]

Widow said this morning on GMA she was not allowed to view her husband's body.  In the Pentagon briefing today, Lt. Gen. Dunford said it's policy that the family has the final say whether they do or not, but there are times the service will suggest they perhaps should not.

You know, given the time it took for recovery and the elements involved, these animals mutilated and desecrated his corpse.  Doesn't anyone remember Black Hawk Down?

[DiogenesLamp]

One would think that an expert in playing six dimensional chess could win by being smarter, and classier than his or her opponent.

How well did that work for President Romney?


Trump loses some,  wins most.   

[DiogenesLamp]

It may work for Trump, but is it really working for the country?

Look,  I was in favor of not playing Mr. nice guy back in the George Herbert Walker era.   I think it is long past time we should have been confronting our opposition with more than kind words.   

I'm worn out from the constant bickering and inaction on a host of legislative matters.

Well if you wanted legislative action,  you should have elected a Republican Congress,  not just a Republican President. 

No doubt, some good things have been done, but most of us expected more from Republican majorities in the House, Senate, and WH.

Most of us did not realize that many of them were Democrats with an (R) beside their name.   Now that we better understand the Washington establishment "uni-party",   we can take more appropriate steps. 

[mystery-ak]

Widow said this morning on GMA she was not allowed to view her husband's body.  In the Pentagon briefing today, Lt. Gen. Dunford said it's policy that the family has the final say whether they do or not, but there are times the service will suggest they perhaps should not.

You know, given the time it took for recovery and the elements involved, these animals mutilated and desecrated his corpse.  Doesn't anyone remember Black Hawk Down?

The General just hinted that there was probably a reason she was advised not to.

Had she looked it would have been another hullabulloo...can't win.