President Trump joked that Democratic Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell’s husband, who died in February, might be in hell.
Speaking at a rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, on Wednesday, Trump relayed a conversation he had with Dingell after her husband, John, died. Trump claimed Dingell thanked the president for honoring her husband and allowing him to lie in state in the Capitol after his death in February.
“She calls me up,” Trump said. “‘It’s the nicest thing that’s ever happened. Thank you so much. John would be so thrilled. He’s looking down. He would be so thrilled.'”
“I said, ‘That’s OK, don’t worry about it.’ Maybe he’s looking up, I don’t know,” Trump said. “Maybe, but let’s assume he’s looking down.”
John Dingell represented several different Michigan districts in the House from 1955 to 2015. His 60 years in the House is the longest of any congressman in history. He died from prostate cancer in February at age 92.
He was honored in Washington, D.C., where Trump ordered flags to fly at half-staff to honor the congressman. Dingell did not lie in state in the Capitol. His funeral in D.C. was held in the Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
UPDATE: This piece has been updated to reflect that John Dingell’s funeral in Washington, D.C., was held in the Holy Trinity Catholic Church. His body did not lie in state in the Capitol as Trump suggested.
