President Donald Trump made a macabre quip about late Democratic Rep. John Dingell at his rally in Michigan on Wednesday night, suggesting he was “looking up” from Hell.
Dingell’s widow Debbie responded with a tweet, saying, “I’m preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love. You brought me down in a way you can never imagine.”
Trump made the comment while implying that Debbie Dingell, who’s held her husband’s seat in Michigan since 2014, was ungrateful for coming out in favor of his impeachment.
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“Debbie Dingell, that’s a real beauty,” Trump told the crowd, noting he’d ordered flags lowered after her husband died earlier this year at age 92. John Dingell had been the longest serving member of Congress, serving for 59 years.
Trump said he gave Dingell an “A+” memorial.
“I gave him everything. I don’t want anything. I don’t need anything for anything,” Trump said. “She calls me up, ‘It’s the nicest thing that’s ever happened. Thank you so much. John would be so thrilled he’s looking down, he’d be so thrilled. Thank you so much, sir.’ I said, ‘That’s okay, don’t worry about it.’
“Maybe he’s looking up, I don’t know. I don’t know. Maybe,” he said to loud laughs and groans from crowd. “But let’s assume he’s looking down.”
He said we wouldn’t go further into their conversation “because it’s not fair to do that,” but “it was the most profuse thank you that you could ever get. On a scale of 1-10, it was a 10, OK?”
Dingell responded online a short time later.
“Mr. President, let’s set politics aside. My husband earned all his accolades after a lifetime of service. 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,” she wrote.
Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan tweeted that Trump should apologize.
