--- title: Donald Trump Denies Account of Talk With Military Widow description: President Trump pushed back against reports that he told the widow of a slain American solider he "knew what he signed up for." canonical: https://time.com/4987094/donald-trump-david-johnson-james-comey/ author: Dan Hirschhorn article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-18T12:18:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:19:26.739Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Denies Telling Widow of Slain Soldier That He 'Knew What He Signed Up for' og:description: "Totally fabricated," the President said og:url: https://time.com/4987094/donald-trump-david-johnson-james-comey/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9cde3eb41d0c285/6988e27c096a94470e6a0123/president-donald-trump1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4708 og:image:height: 2648 og:image:alt: President Donald Trump Speaks At Heritage Foundation Meeting og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Denies Telling Widow of Slain Soldier That He 'Knew What He Signed Up for' twitter:description: "Totally fabricated," the President said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9cde3eb41d0c285/6988e27c096a94470e6a0123/president-donald-trump1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Totally Fabricated.' Trump Denies Telling Widow of Slain Soldier That He 'Knew What He Signed Up for' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Oct 18, 2017 12:18 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks during the Heritage Foundation's President's Club meeting on Oct. 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump speaks during the Heritage Foundation's President's Club meeting on Oct. 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Martin H. Simon—Pool/Getty Images by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Oct 18, 2017 12:18 PM UTC President Donald Trump pushed back early Wednesday morning against reports that [he told the widow of a slain American solider that her husband “knew what he signed up for,”](http://time.com/4987048/trump-soldier-widow-la-david-johnson/) dismissing a Democratic lawmaker’s account of the phone call as “totally fabricated.” “Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof),” Trump said on Twitter. “Sad!” Trump was referring to Florida Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson, who said Tuesday that she was in a car with Myeshia Johnson, on her way to receive the body of Johnson’s husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, when the President called. Wilson, who said she heard part of the conversation between Johnson and Trump on speakerphone, told the local news outlet WPLG: “Yeah, he said that. To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn’t say that to a grieving widow. … That’s so insensitive.” > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/920611770775064576) Trump has suggested in other situations that he has proof to support his account of conversations, only to back down later. Wilson stood by her story in a Twitter post shortly after Trump’s denial. > [](https://twitter.com/RepWilson/status/920643495953649665) Trump has been under fire this week for his handling of [the death of four American soldiers in Niger](http://time.com/4986918/us-military-niger-soldier-deaths-investigaton/?xid=homepage), criticism that escalated when he [falsely claimed](http://time.com/4984599/donald-trump-barack-obama-soldiers-families/?xid=homepage) that President Barack Obama didn’t call the families of slain soldiers when he was in office. The President also took aim Wednesday morning at the FBI’s disclosure this week that former FBI Director James Comey [had begun drafting a letter](https://vault.fbi.gov/drafts-of-director-comeys-july-5-2016-statement-regarding-email-server-investigation/Drafts%20of%20Director%20Comeys%20July%205%2C%202016%20Statement%20Regarding%20Email%20Server%20Investigation%20Part%2001%20of%2001/view) exonerating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server before agents had interviewed her. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/920595564064100352) > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/920597192666157057) > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/920604520572424193) Trump fired Comey earlier this year. At the time, he cited Comey’s handling of the Clinton investigation during the 2016 election, but he later acknowledged he did it at least partly because of the investigation into whether any of his associates colluded with Russia to influence the election. His firing of Comey led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is now reportedly investigating whether Trump’s firing of Comey amounted to obstruction of justice. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4987094/donald-trump-david-johnson-james-comey/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4987094/donald-trump-david-johnson-james-comey/"},"headline":"'Totally Fabricated.' 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