Trump Fires Back At Gold Star Wife. That’s A Terrible Idea. Here’s Why.

On Monday, Gold Star widow Myeshia Johnson spoke out about her much-ballyhooed call with President Trump. For the last week, colorfully-behatted Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) accused Trump of botching the phone call and offending Johnson by stating that Sgt. La David Johnson, killed in early October in Niger, had known what he signed up for; Trump and White House chief of staff General John Kelly said that Trump hadn’t said anything offensive, and that he meant to compliment Sgt. Johnson’s bravery.

This was pretty clearly a Rashomon situation. Trump said something that Johnson interpreted in a certain way. Johnson was upset; Trump didn’t mean to say anything wrong. The proper response here would be something like this from President Trump: “I meant only to express my condolences to Mrs. Johnson and my immense respect and gratitude for her husband’s sacrifice. If those comments were interpreted differently, I apologize, and I would love the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Johnson again to more clearly express my feelings for a fallen American hero.”