Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said Sunday white supremacists are “sprinkled” around the White House, adding he wished President Trump would apologize for his call to the family of one of the four soldiers killed during a deadly ambush in Niger.
“I agree that Steve Bannon is a white supremacist and Stephen Miller seems to be,” Brown told CNN, referring to Rep. Frederica Wilson’s comments on Friday that the Trump administration is “full of white supremacists.” “And I know that studies have shown that they have their allies sprinkled around the White House.”
He didn’t say which “studies” he was refering to.
Brown on Rep. Wilson’s comment: “I agree that Steve Bannon is a white supremacist and Stephen Miller seems to be” https://t.co/Qtr4yr9EWg
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 22, 2017
Brown waded into the controversy surrounding Trump’s dealings with members of Gold Star families by saying the president should apologize and admit that what he told Sgt. La David Johnson’s grieving widow “didn’t come out right.”
“It would be a nice touch if the president would once in a while act that way instead always attack, always attack, always demean the way he does too often,” Brown said before continuing that Trump had a habit of insulting people by not naming them.
Sen. Sherrod Brown on the Gold Star condolence call controversy: I just wish Trump would apologize #CNNSOTU https://t.co/mIzFhwQFxl
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 22, 2017
According to Wilson, Trump was needlessly insensitive during his condolence call with Myeshia Johnson on the death of her husband, who was killed during a reconnaissance patrol as part of an advise-and-assist mission in the west African country earlier in October. The family has backed up Wilson’s version of the call, while Trump and the White House disputes it.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders hit back at Brown’s “outrageous and slanderous” remark, saying “the nonstop name-calling from the left continues to show an inability to build consensus and fix the problems ailing hardworking Americans.”
“Sen. Brown needs to understand that when he calls out public servants who are part of the Trump administration, he is indicting the voters in Ohio themselves who overwhelmingly voted for the president’s agenda,” Sanders said in a statement. “Instead of performing theatre for the extreme left fringe, his time would be better spent fighting for everyday people by supporting the Trump agenda of pro-worker trade and immigration policies that will raise wages and living standards for all Americans.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the response from the White House.
