Donald Trump called dead US troops ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’, sources claim
President also allegedly asked aides to exclude amputee veterans from military parade
Donald Trump has been accused of disparaging US soldiers killed in combat as “losers” and “suckers” during a visit to a military cemetery.
At least four sources have told The Atlantic that the president made the comments prior to a scheduled First World War memorial event at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, near Paris, in November 2018. Trump cancelled the appearance at the last minute, blaming “bad weather”.
However, insiders told the US magazine that he decided to pull out after asking his entourage: “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a separate conversation during the trip to France, Trump is also alleged to have said that US marines who lost their lives at the Battle of Belleau Wood - a key Allied victory in the War - were “suckers” for getting killed.
The Associated Press news agency reports that “a senior Defence Department official with first-hand knowledge of events and a senior US Marine Corps officer who was told about Trump’s comments confirmed some of the remarks”.
And the US leader is alleged to have made similar comments back on US soil.
“Trump has been, for the duration of his presidency, fixated on staging military parades, but only of a certain sort,” says The Atlantic.
During a 2018 White House planning meeting for such an event, he reportedly asked his aides not to include amputee veterans in the procession, arguing that “nobody wants to see that”.
Trump has dismissed the reports as “totally false”. Calling The Atlantic a “terrible magazine” in a denial to reporters in Washington, he asked: “What animal would say such a thing?”
True or not, the allegations are the latest in a string of rows relating to Trump’s alleged comments on military matters.
As The Independent reports, he “ran into trouble over a 2017 call of condolence he made to Myeshia Johnson”, whose husband Sergeant La David Johnson was killed in Niger by Islamic militants. The newly widowed woman said that the president “could not remember her husband’s name” and told her “he knew what he signed up for”.
Two years earlier, Trump had sparked anger by saying that Arizona senator and former prisoner of war John McCain was “not a war hero”, adding: “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
According to The Atlantic, when McCain died, in August 2018, Trump told his senior staff: “We’re not going to support that loser’s funeral.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 19, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - junk food, health drinks, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Band Aid 40: time to change the tune?
In the Spotlight Band Aid's massively popular 1984 hit raised around £8m for famine relief in Ethiopia and the charity has generated over £140m in total
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Starmer vs the farmers: who will win?
Today's Big Question As farmers and rural groups descend on Westminster to protest at tax changes, parallels have been drawn with the miners' strike 40 years ago
By The Week UK Published
-
The clown car cabinet
Opinion Even 'Little Marco' towers above his fellow nominees
By Mark Gimein Published
-
What Mike Huckabee means for US-Israel relations
In the Spotlight Some observers are worried that the conservative evangelical minister could be a destabilizing influence on an already volatile region
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with Trump
Talking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Can Europe pick up the slack in Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Trump's election raises questions about what's next in the war
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
What does the G20 summit say about the new global order?
Today's Big Question Donald Trump's election ushers in era of 'transactional' geopolitics that threatens to undermine international consensus
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
What will Trump mean for the Middle East?
Talking Point President-elect's 'pro-Israel stance' could mask a more complex and unpredictable approach to the region
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
How will Elon Musk's alliance with Donald Trump pan out?
The Explainer The billionaire's alliance with Donald Trump is causing concern across liberal America
By The Week UK Published