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A journalistic investigation reports that Trump called the soldiers who died in combat "losers." The president denies it

2020-09-04T18:42:35.890Z


“Why should I go to that cemetery? It is full of losers, ”the president assured his advisers at a World War I commemoration, according to the prestigious magazine The Atlantic.


President Donald Trump has referred to US soldiers who fell in battle as "losers" and "fools," according to four people who heard him in The Atlantic magazine.

The president and his associates have denied it, but other sources have corroborated the report since it was published Thursday night.

This has sparked a political storm for a president seeking reelection, in part selling himself as an ally to the troops and veterans, less than two months before the presidential election.

[Follow our coverage of the 2020 presidential elections]

According to the prestigious magazine The Atlantic, during a visit to France in 2018, Trump questioned his advisers for having to visit the Aisne-Marne cemetery near Paris, where 2,289 victims of the First World War are buried.

"Why should I go to that graveyard? It's full of losers," Trump told his advisers, according to four people the magazine reports had firsthand knowledge of the discussion.

The media claims that on that same trip, Trump referred to 1,800 soldiers who lost their lives in the Battle of Belleau Wood as "fools."

President Donald Trump during a visit to the Suresnes Cemetery near Paris.AP

The Atlantic report also alleges that Trump asked that wounded veterans not be brought to military parades, because "nobody wants to see that."

The president denied making those comments.

"What animal would say a thing like that? And especially after I've done more, I think more than anyone else, to help our military," Trump said at a campaign rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Thursday in the night.

"I think it is a horrible thing that they allow themselves to write that. We can deny it. We have other people who will deny it."

How do military veterans view Donald Trump's rhetoric?

May 26, 201901: 44

However, a senior Department of Defense official, who remained anonymous, confirmed to The Associated Press that the president said all these phrases, and that he also strongly insulted (more than was already public) the late Republican Senator John McCain, who was a veteran of the Vietnam War and was captured and tortured for 5 years. 

In 2015, when he was campaigning, Trump was derided from Republicans and veterans alike when he said that McCain, respected throughout his career by Republicans and Democrats,

"is not a war hero" and that "I like people who are not. captured ".

That however did not hurt his campaign and Trump went on to win the presidency. 

According to officials who spoke to The Atlantic and the AP, when McCain died in 2018 Trump also said he was a "p - o loser."

These comments are now affecting this presidential campaign: Democratic candidate Joe Biden responded late Thursday night, and then again this Friday, visibly angry.

At a campaign event, Biden said he

had never come this close to losing his temper in response to something Trump has said.



Biden repeated what he often berates the president: that he has shown that he is unfit to be commander-in-chief because he has repeatedly endangered or belittled soldiers, when his most sacred responsibility and that of the government is to protect them.

How do military veterans view Donald Trump's rhetoric?

May 26, 201901: 44


The former vice president said he took Trump's comments personally as the father of a veteran, evoking his son Beau, in an effort to connect with the many military families who may be hurt by the president's comments.

Biden's temperament and tone rose as he sharply emphasized that when Beau Biden volunteered to join the Delaware National Guard "he was no fool" and that those he served with in Iraq for a year "were not losers. ".



Biden demanded that the president "humbly apologize" to all the decorated families immediately.



"Who the hell does he think he is?" Asked Biden.

The president's side continues to deny it

"It's false. President Trump has the highest regard for the military," communications director Alyssa Farah told NBC News, our sister network.

"She has demonstrated her commitment to them at all times - by keeping her promise to give our troops a much-needed pay raise, increasing military spending, signing critical reforms for veterans, and supporting military spouses. This is without foundation."

Chief of Staff Mark Meadows also emphatically denied it, saying it "is false."

The Battle of Belleau Wood, which lasted for 20 days in June 1918 and left German forces deeply defeated, was a watershed moment in World War I for the US Marine Corps.

On that trip commemorating 100 years of the battle, Trump asked, "Who are the good guys again?" According to multiple sources.

Donald Trump talks to an American veteran of the Battle of Normandy, along with First Lady Melania Trump, at the ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion of D-Day in World War II, June 2019, Colleville-Sur -Mer, France.Sean Gallup / Getty Images

For various members of the Armed Forces, such as former decorated general Barry McCaffrey, The Atlantic report "is entirely possible."

"He is a man of many fears," McCaffrey said in an interview with MSNBC, our sister network.

"Fear of service, fear of disfigurement, fear of death. You cannot understand the millions of veterans who have stepped forward to fight and defend this country, without monetary rewards or medals, but simply to protect our constitution and Lifestyle".

Former Defense Secretary Bill Cohen, also part of that interview along with McCaffrey, offered fewer words but no less discontent.

"Silence is said to be the most perfect expression of contempt. I am tempted to remain silent on this, just to express my contempt for what has been said ... Everything (Trump) has done, almost everything that he has done, he has shown that he is unfit to serve. "

With information from NBC News. 

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2020-09-04

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