'Trump is messing with the wrong woman'

The president has never feuded with a politician quite like Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson.

By MARC CAPUTO 10/20/2017 09:17 PM EDT

Of President Trump’s many opponents in Congress, none looks or sounds remotely like Rep. Frederica Wilson, the Miami Democrat known for her bedazzled, sequined-blinged hats, her vibrant matching outfits and her reputation in Florida for never backing down from a fight. But Wilson has never had an foe like Trump or a fight this personal, which began with the president’s condolence call to the widow of a young soldier the congresswoman helped steer away from Miami’s mean streets — only to see him die in a mysterious ambush in sub-Saharan Niger.

Despite tough criticism and insults from the president and his allies — a top African-American Trump surrogate, former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, characterized Wilson as “a buffoon” while White House Chief of Staff John Kelly teed off on her from a White House lectern — the 74-year-old Democrat hasn’t flinched, firing back with caustic responses honed by years of full-contact Miami politics.

The president is a “jerk” and a “liar” who “doesn’t know how to be a president,” Wilson said. She then mocked him for raising her profile.

“You mean to tell me that I have become so important that the White House is following me and my words?” Wilson laughed. “This is amazing. That's amazing. That is absolutely phenomenal. I'll have to tell my kids that I'm a rock star now.”

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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/20/frederica-wilson-trump-gold-star-families-244013