Rep. John Dingell's Widow Slams Trump for Suggesting the Congresswoman's Late Husband Went to Hell
The same day the House of Representatives voted to impeach Donald Trump, he held a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan. During the rally, he not only said he isn’t “worried” about being impeached, but suggested that the late Rep. John Dingell was looking upon the political proceedings in the afterlife — from hell.
“Debbie Dingell, that’s a real beauty,” Trump said, according to CNN, of John’s widow, who is a Michigan Congresswoman. Debbie voted in favor of his impeachment on Wednesday.
Trump went on to recount a conversation he had with Debbie after John’s death in February at age 92, in which he said Debbie told him her husband was “looking down” on his funeral, the outlet reported.
“Maybe he’s looking up,” Trump then said at the rally. “Maybe, but let’s assume he’s looking down.”
John was the longest-serving congressman in history, and CNN reported that the disrespectful remark did not seem to land with Trump’s audience in John’s home state.
Debbie now represents the state’s 12th Congressional District, and addressed Trump on Twitter, saying that he hurt her “in a way you can never imagine.”
“Mr. President, let’s set politics aside. My husband earned all his accolades after a lifetime of service,” Debbie wrote on the social media platform. “I’m preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love. You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder.”
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Earlier on Wednesday, Debbie applauded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Twitter and Instagram for “strong leadership and an empathetic hand” in the impeachment proceedings.
Debbie explained in an op-ed for the New York Times published on Tuesday that though she was initially “hesitant” to vote in favor of impeachment, his Ukraine scandal was the last straw for her.
“The facts showed that President Trump and his administration put politics over country by asking a foreign government to investigate a political rival while withholding military aid that affects our national security,” she wrote. “Further evidence showed a clear obstruction of Congress. Blocking key witnesses from the administration from testifying and even intimidating sitting witnesses sets a dangerous precedent.”
“If we don’t address this abuse of power, we abdicate our constitutional and moral responsibility. Failing to address it would also condone these actions as acceptable for future administrations,” she continued, adding in conclusion that she would vote for impeachment “to protect our Constitution, our democratic republic and the future of our country.”
Trump’s seeming attack on John Wednesday night isn’t the first time he’s been accused of speaking ill of the dead.
“I have to be honest, I never liked him much. Hasn’t been for me. I’ve really, probably, never will,” Trump said in March of the late Senator John McCain, after inaccurately stating that he had to “approve” the Senator’s memorial services.
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After the remarks, John’s daughter Meghan McCain spoke out about it on The View.
“[Trump] spends his weekend obsessing over great men because — he knows it and I know it and all of you know it — he will never be a great man,” she said. “My father was his kryptonite in life, he’s his kryptonite in death.”
Also in March, Cindy McCain shared a vicious message that someone had sent her speaking ill of her late husband, who died in 2018 after battling brain cancer.
“I want to make sure all of you could see how kind and loving a stranger can be,” Cindy, 64, wrote on Twitter with a screenshot of the message. “I’m posting her note [so] her family and friends could see.”
