Donald Trump's bedpan carrier, White House chief of staff John Kelly, stepped up to the podium once again to prove that whatever fine reputation he once had is completely gone. His soul is sold. Absent.
Kelly has chosen not to politicize his own son’s death in combat, and that is his right. No one gets to tell him how to grieve. No one gets to tell him how to respond to others politicizing the death of his son. His choices on that are his own, and they should be respected and honored. Period. But Kelly has chosen to step into his boss' politicization of the death of a soldier who was not his son. And unless he is doing so with the permission of that Gold Star family, he is as out of line as anyone would be if they were politicizing the death of his son. But Kelly is Trump's minion, and in so being, Kelly has forfeited his own honor.
Maggie Haberman has been one of the most prominent embarrassments at the New York Times as the paper continues to normalize Trump after spending the bulk of last year demonizing Hillary Clinton. That’s no mean feat. Once known as the “paper of record,” the Times last year forfeited its own reputation, and Haberman has been one of those most responsible for that forfeiture. And in response to Kelly's contemptible politicization of the death of an American soldier, Haberman proves that she hasn't yet scraped the bottom of her own barrel of sludge.
Sgt. La David T. Johnson's widow Myeshia Johnson chose to have Congresswoman Frederica Wilson with her. That was her choice, and neither Kelly nor Haberman get to question that. Neither Kelly nor Haberman get to question Wilson for having been with Johnson. Unlike Trump, Wilson has a long history of public service, particularly to military families:
Wilson has deep roots in the South Florida community where Johnson grew up. Before entering Congress, she worked as a teacher, principal and school board member in the Miami-Dade area and served for more than a decade as a state legislator.
And her public service touched La David Johnson personally.
She also founded a program in 1993 called 5,000 Role Models of Excellence, which helps at-risk minority youths prepare for college, vocational school and the military. Her long career in public service and her work in the program have put her especially close to military families and victims of gun violence over the years. She does not shy away from grief.
Before Johnson was killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month, he graduated from the program.
And La David Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, confirmed Wilson's story:
The mother of a soldier killed in an ambush in Africa said Wednesday that President Trump “did disrespect my son” with remarks in a condolence telephone call.
Sgt. La David T. Johnson’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Washington Post that she was present during the call from the White House on Tuesday to Johnson’s widow, Myeshia Johnson. She also stood by an account of the call from Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.) that Trump told Myeshia Johnson that her husband “must have known what he signed up for.”
“President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband,” Jones-Johnson said.
Haberman’s backing of Kelly in opposition of the actual intentions and words of the widow and mother of a fallen soldier is utterly contemptible. Haberman has been an embarrassment, and given her role in a prominent newspaper, her incompetence and bias has been dangerous. But this is even worse. Maggie Haberman is despicable.
And meanwhile, the circumstances of La David Johnson's death still haven't been adequately explained. A real reporter—a professional journalist—might want to look into that.