Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., said Sunday that White House chief of staff John Kelly was “a puppet of the president” when he criticized her last week and that Kelly owes an apology for mischaracterizing a speech she gave.
“He basically just lied on me, and I don’t appreciate people lying on me, and that’s what he did,” Wilson said on MSNBC, referring to Kelly’s false recollection of the Democratic congresswoman bragging about securing funding during an FBI building dedication.
“I’ve been lied on before, but the character assassination that he went through, to call me out by my name ‘an empty barrel,’ and all of the work I’ve done in this community,” she continued.
“Not only does he owe me an apology, he owes an apology to the American people, because when he lied on me he lied to them and I don’t think it’s fair,” Wilson said. “He owes the American people an apology for lying on one of their congresswomen.”
Wilson rocketed into the national spotlight last week by sharing with media outlets the alleged content of a call President Trump placed to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger. Trump denied using insensitive wording, but the family and Wilson stood by the claim.
“John Kelly is almost, I guess you could say, he was a puppet of the president, and what he was trying to do was divert the attention away from the president and onto me,” Wilson said.
Kelly, whose son died in Afghanistan in 2010, condemned Wilson for raising Trump’s call publicly. The White House and Kelly have not apologized for mischaracterizing her past remarks.
