Trump denies speaking insultingly of war dead

“It was a terrible thing that somebody could say the kind of things — and especially to me ’cause I’ve done more for the military than almost anyone, anybody else,” President Donald Trump said Friday in disputing a report that he privately referred to American soldiers killed in combat as “losers” and “suckers.” 
(The New York Times/Anna Moneymaker)
“It was a terrible thing that somebody could say the kind of things — and especially to me ’cause I’ve done more for the military than almost anyone, anybody else,” President Donald Trump said Friday in disputing a report that he privately referred to American soldiers killed in combat as “losers” and “suckers.” (The New York Times/Anna Moneymaker)

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump continued to rail Friday against an article first written by The Atlantic that claims the president has frequently disparaged the military, calling it a "fake story."

In the Oval Office, the president was asked whether he owed service members and veterans an apology for the accusations leveled in the article by anonymous sources, among them that he had referred to those killed or injured in war as "losers."

Trump derided the magazine, calling its reporting a "disgrace," adding, "especially because I've done more for the military than almost anyone else."

"To me they're heroes," Trump said about U.S. service members. "It's even hard to believe how they can do it, the level of bravery, and to me they are absolute heroes."

Trump was alleged to have made the comments in November 2018, as he was set to visit Aisne-Marne American Cemetery during a trip to France. The White House said the visit was scrubbed because foggy weather made the helicopter trip from Paris too risky and a 90-minute drive was deemed unfeasible.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to view » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7NGnBizC2o]

Trump did pay respects to the war dead the next day at Suresnes American Cemetery outside Paris.

Speaking with reporters next to Air Force One on Thursday night after returning from a campaign rally, Trump insisted that weather, not disrespect, forced the visit to be scrapped. "It was raining about as hard as I've ever seen," he said. "And on top of that, it was very, very foggy. And the helicopter was unable to fly."

To go by ground, he added, a motorcade would have had to wind its way through congested areas of Paris. "The Secret Service told me, 'You can't do it,'" he said. "I said, 'I have to do it. I want to be there.' They said, 'You can't do it.'"

The article attributed the episode to "four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day" but did not name them. During a conversation with senior officials that day, according to the magazine, Trump said: "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." On the same trip, the article said, he referred to American Marines slain in combat at Belleau Wood as "suckers" for getting killed.

Speaking Friday in the Oval Office, Trump denied ever uttering such comments: "It was a terrible thing that somebody could say the kind of things -- and especially to me 'cause I've done more for the military than almost anyone, anybody else."

Later, in a press briefing, Trump suggested the source of the story was his former chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly. "It could have been a guy like John Kelly," Trump told reporters, saying his former top aide "was unable to handle the pressure of this job."

Returning to Washington from a Thursday visit to Pennsylvania, Trump told reporters that The Atlantic article was "a disgraceful situation" by a "terrible magazine."

"I would be willing to swear on anything that I never said that about our fallen heroes," Trump told the reporters, gathered on the tarmac in the dark. "There is nobody that respects them more. No animal -- nobody -- what animal would say such a thing?"

'NEVER HAPPENED'

Current and former aides to Trump backed him up with Twitter messages disputing the article. "I was actually there and one of the people part of the discussion -- this never happened," wrote Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was then the White House press secretary.

"This is not even close to being factually accurate," added Jordan Karem, the president's personal aide at the time.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told "Fox & Friends" on Friday that he was with the president for a good part of the trip to France. "I never heard him use the words that are described in that article," Pompeo said.

The president also got support from an unlikely source Friday when John Bolton, his former national security adviser who has broken with him and called him unfit for office, said he was on the trip in question and never heard Trump make those remarks.

"I didn't hear that," Bolton said in an interview. "I'm not saying he didn't say them later in the day or another time, but I was there for that discussion."

Bolton said he was in the room at the ambassador's residence when Trump arrived and Kelly told him that the helicopter trip had to be canceled. A two-hour motorcade would have put him too far away from Air Force One and the most capable communications array a president needs in case of an emergency, in accordance with usual protocol, Bolton said. "It was a straight weather call," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Trump tweeted about the report, accusing The Atlantic of making it up "in order to gain some relevance."

"Story already refuted, but this is what we are up against," Trump tweeted. "Just like the Fake Dossier. You fight and fight, and then people realize it was a total fraud!"

Though the president claims the article has been disproved, senior-level officials confirmed several of the accounts to The Washington Post and other news outlets.

'NOT SHOCKED'

Two U.S. lawmakers who served in the military and the father of a slain soldier excoriated Trump on Friday.

During a conference call organized by Joe Biden's campaign, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said she was "appalled" but "not shocked" by the story. She said Trump has long demonstrated a lack of respect for military sacrifice.

"He doesn't understand other people's bravery and courage because he's never had any of his own," said Duckworth, a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel who suffered severe combat wounds in Iraq, causing her to lose both legs.

That sentiment was echoed by Khizr Khan, the father of an Army captain who was killed in 2004 during the Iraq War.

"Words count because they tell us who they are," Khan said of Trump. "He is incapable of understanding service, valor and courage. His soul cannot conceive of integrity and honor. ... His soul is that of a coward."

Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., a former judge advocate in the Marines who prosecuted cases of rape and sexual assault, devoted most of his remarks to praising Biden for his support of military members and their families.

"I don't want to waste any more breath on acknowledging the things this person has said or not said," Lamb said of Trump.

Separately Friday, the group VoteVets, a liberal veterans organization that has long been critical of Trump, released an ad featuring six Gold Star families who recounted losing their loved ones and said they were not "losers" or "suckers" -- two words Trump allegedly used, according to The Atlantic.

Biden's campaign released an ad with images of U.S. troops, as comments Trump allegedly made about the military appear over them. There are no words spoken, just a somber instrumental.

"Mr. President, if you don't respect our troops, you can't lead them," Biden tweeted with the ad.

"I've just never been as disappointed, in my whole career, with a leader that I've worked with, president or otherwise," Biden added during a news conference Friday. "If the article is true -- and it appears to be, based on other things he's said -- it is absolutely damning. It is a disgrace."

The former vice president often speaks about his pride for his late son Beau's service in the Delaware Army National Guard. As he spoke, Biden raised his voice to rebut Trump's alleged comments.

"When my son was an assistant U.S. attorney and he volunteered to go to Kosovo when the war was going on, as a civilian, he wasn't a sucker," Biden declared.

"When my son volunteered to join the United States military as the attorney general, he went to Iraq for a year, won the Bronze Star and other commendations, he wasn't a sucker!"

Beau Biden died of cancer in 2015.

He added that "the president should humbly apologize to every Gold Star mother and father, to every Blue Star family that he's denigrated. ... Who the heck does he think he is?"

NO APOLOGY

Trump, in the Oval Office, said no apology was necessary, because it was a "fake story."

Trump also denied calling the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, a decorated Navy officer who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a "loser" after his August 2018 death.

Trump acknowledged Thursday he was "never a fan" of McCain and disagreed with him, but said he still respected him and approved everything to do with his "first-class triple-A funeral" without hesitation because "I felt he deserved it."

Military families were broadly supportive of Trump in the 2016 election, and a Pew Research Center survey of veterans conducted in June 2019 found overall that veterans were more supportive of Trump than the general public, and that roughly 60% of the veterans polled identified as Republicans.

Asked Friday about the possibility of seeing Trump when they will both be in Shanksville, Pa., for the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks next week, Biden said: "I didn't know he was going until after I announced on my own. Of course."

Asked if he'd be willing to share a stage with Trump, he said: "Yes. He's still the president of the United States of America."

Information for this article was contributed by Colby Itkowitz and John Wagner of The Washington Post; by Zeke Miller, Alexandra Jaffe, James LaPorta and Jill Colvin of The Associated Press; and by Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times.

Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, said Friday in Wilmington, Del., that “I’ve just never been as disappointed, in my whole career, with a leader that I’ve worked with, president or otherwise,” adding, “If the article is true — and it appears to be, based on other things he’s said — it is absolutely damning. It is a disgrace.”
(The New York Times/Michelle V. Agins)
Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, said Friday in Wilmington, Del., that “I’ve just never been as disappointed, in my whole career, with a leader that I’ve worked with, president or otherwise,” adding, “If the article is true — and it appears to be, based on other things he’s said — it is absolutely damning. It is a disgrace.” (The New York Times/Michelle V. Agins)

Upcoming Events