The ousted White House Chief of Staff never apologized for slandering Wilson’s name.
By Nigel Roberts
Florida’s Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson won’t shed a tear for ousted White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s last day on the job because of his disrespect for African Americans—and the personal hell he caused her. President Trump announced Kelly’s dismissal on Saturday.
Kelly has not apologized for slandering her name and for the death threats she received stemming from their public feud, Wilson told “CNN Tonight” host Don Lemon on Tuesday.
She said Kelly lied about her falsely taking credit for obtaining funding for construction of a new federal building in Florida.
“[He] made up the whole story to side with the president to make it look like I was some sort of a clown or someone who was, who just lies all the time, and I think that’s why he never apologized, and because he does not respect women, and he definitely does not respect Black women, and I don’t think he respects Black people,” she said. “I don’t think that Mr. Kelly did a good job, and I think I want to say good riddance to him. Goodbye.”
The death threats she received following Kelly’s comments prompted her to hire armed security guards, the congresswoman stated.
Wilson was vindicated when the Sun-Sentinel republished a video of Wilson’s speech, which Kelly referenced, proving she did not brag about raising the $20 million needed to construct the FBI building.
The feud between Kelly, a retired four-star Marine Corps general, and Wilson stems from a dispute between the congresswoman and Trump over his mistreatment of Army Sgt. La David Johnson’s widow Myeshia Johnson.
Wilson and Myeshia Johnson’s aunt overheard the president’s insensitive remarks in his condolence phone call to the widow in2017. La David Johnson was one of four U.S. soldiers killed in an October 2017 ambush in Niger. Wilson publicly criticized Trump, and the president called the congresswoman a liar.
Myeshia Johnson later confirmed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Wilson’s version of the conversation was “100 percent correct.”
Kelly ignited controversy on his own when he disregarded slavery as a cause of the Civil War and praised Confederate General Robert E. Lee during an interview with Fox News.
“The lack of an ability to compromise led to the Civil War. And men and women of good faith on both sides made their stand where their conscience had to make their stand,” Kelly said during an interview on the cable channel’s “The Ingraham Angle,” avoiding any mention of slavery.
Lee was “an honorable man,” Kelly also said, despite the deadly violence that erupted at a white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia over the statue’s removal in 2017
