The widow of Army Sgt. La David Johnson, who died earlier this month in Niger, has said a Facebook post that claimed to be written by her and criticized Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) while defending President Donald Trump, is fake.
Mrs. Johnson confirms to ABC News that she did not write this post. It is fake. https://t.co/yN9P8M2fYL
— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) October 22, 2017
“I want to set the record straight! I’m getting sick and tired of this so called politician using my husband as a political platform,” the fake post read before it was taken down.
It went on: “Even buy [sic] her own words she did not hear all of the conversation she only heard part of it. This is what actually was said. ‘They know the risk, they know what they sign up for but they still volunteer to put their lives on the line for their fellow Americans. We owe them a debt that can never be repaid.’”
The now-debunked post comes following Rep. Wilson telling reporters she was present when President Trump told Sgt. Johnson’s widow, Myeshia, on speaker phone that her husband “knew what he was signing up for.”
“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,” Wilson told reporters. “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’s claim and suggesting he had “proof” that they were “totally fabricated.” La David Johnson’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Washington Post that she was also present during the call and corroborated Rep. Wilson’s account of it.
ABC News will be speaking exclusively with Myeshia Johnson about her husband Monday on “Good Morning America.”