Senator slams "white supremacists" in Trump admin, defends congresswoman and Gold Star family

Friday, Florida Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson told The New York Times that the White House is “full of white supremacists.”

Her comments came as she has been the target of a weeklong attack by Donald Trump and senior members of his administration, who have lied about the congresswoman in an ongoing controversy over Trump’s response to the widow of a fallen soldier.

Wilson earlier this week described a phone conversation between Trump and the widow of Army Sgt. La David Johnson, who was killed just over two weeks ago in an ISIS-led ambush in Niger. In the conversation, Trump told the grieving widow that her husband “knew what he signed up for” and reportedly didn’t even use Johnson’s name.

Administration officials later accused Wilson of politicizing a “sacred” issue.

“They are making themselves look like fools. They have no credibility,” Wilson told the Times. “They are trying to assassinate my character, and they are assassinating their own because everything they say is coming out and shown to be a lie.”

Asked if he agrees with Wilson, Brown defended the congresswoman, telling CNN’s Dana Bash: “I agree that Steve Bannon is a white supremacist, and Stephen Miller seems to be, and I know that studies have shown they have their allies sprinkled around the White House.”

Brown also commented on Trump’s refusal to actually use the names of people he attacks, as a way to “dehumanize” them.

Even yesterday, as the fallen soldier was laid to rest, Trump continued his attacks on Wilson, who was Johnson’s mentor and a family confidante.

But this smear campaign against Wilson is part of a broader controversy over Trump’s treatment of Gold Star families. It was revealed Friday that Trump not only lied when he said he had contacted “virtually all” families of fallen soldiers during his presidency, but that he didn’t even have an updated list of their names.

Of the fallen soldiers who Trump has ignored, at least three came from black families.

His attacks on Wilson also fit into a pattern of lashing out at black women, including California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, ESPN anchor Jemele Hill, and seasoned White House reporter April Ryan.

But perhaps nothing is more emblematic of Trump’s disrespect for black women than his complete lack of empathy towards a the widow of a grieving fallen soldier. He would likely deny that race was a factor — but his actions imply otherwise. And as Wilson and Brown note, so do many of the people in his White House.