The pregnant widow of U.S. Army Sgt. La David T. Johnson, who was among four American soldiers killed in Niger earlier this month, says President Donald Trump‘s condolence call only made her pain worse.
Myeshia Johnson, 24, spoke out for the first time on Good Morning America Monday and confirmed the details of her conversation with the Commander in Chief that U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson had shared last week – including that Trump said her husband “knew what he signed up for, but when it happens it hurts anyway.”
“It made me cry because I was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said it,” Myeshia said.
“He couldn’t remember my husband’s name.”
She added of Trump: “I heard him stumbling on trying to remember my husband’s name and that’s what hurt me the most because if my husband is out here fighting for our country and he risked his life for our country, why can’t you remember his name?”
Johnson was laid to rest over the weekend in a private funeral service in which nearly 1,200 mourners gathered to remember the 25-year-old who was killed in an ambush in the West African country.
Myeshia’s comments come as Trump finds himself embroiled in a heated battle with Wilson, a Democrat. Wilson criticized Trump for his words during the call to Myeshia.
Trump denied Wilson’s claim, tweeting on Friday, “The Fake News is going crazy with wacky Congresswoman Wilson(D), who was SECRETLY on a very personal call, and gave a total lie on content!”
However, Wilson is a personal friend of the Johnson family and was in the car when Myeshia took the president’s call on speakerphone.
Johnson’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, confirmed Wilson’s account of the call and told The Washington Post that “President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband.”
Trump first denied the statements last Wednesday, telling reporters that day,“ I didn’t say what that congresswoman said, didn’t say it at all, she knows it.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders last Wednesday called Wilson’s account of the conversation was “disgraceful” and “disgusting,” but never explicitly denied that the president told the young widow her husband “knew what he signed up for.”
Wilson has continued to stand by her account. She has also criticized Trump for referring to Myeshia in comments as “the woman” or “the wife,” and for calling Johnson “your guy” in the president’s call to Myeshia.
However, in Wednesday’s press briefing, Sanders said that “just because the president said ‘your guy,’ I don’t think he didn’t know his name.”
Meanwhile, Trump is facing additional criticism for falsely claiming past presidents did not personally reach out to the families of slain service members.
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE
