“Morning Joe” opened up its first hours Wednesday on a somber note, reacting to a report that Donald Trump told the grieving widow of a fallen U.S. solider that her husband “knew what he signed up for.”
“Put this into a long list of strange bizarre interactions that the president has on a daily basis. We could find 10 or 11 or 12 yesterday of public record that just again shows a complete disconnect from the rest of humanity,” said host Joe Scarborough.
“A complete disconnect from compassion, a complete disconnect from basic human emotions that we teach our children from the time they are 2 or 3 years old,” he added.
“… And you’re the president of the United States,” remarked “Morning Joe” resident historian and ex-Newsweek Editor-in-Chief Jon Meacham.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D- Fla.) told reporters that she heard Trump make the comments during a call to the pregnant widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, who was killed in an attack by Islamic militants in Niger two weeks ago.
“He was saying that he was sorry and that she had his sympathy and he was hoping that even though her husband gave his life for this country,” she told reporters Monday. “He said sarcastically, ‘But you know, he must have known was he signed up for.’ Now how can you say that to a grieving widow? I couldn’t believe, and he said it more than once.”
Trump responded on Twitter Wednesday morning, denying Wilson claims and suggesting he had “proof” that they were “totally fabricated.”
“Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!” he tweeted.
Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2017