VA secretary defends Trump amid damning reports that he insulted U.S. service members

Dana Bash and Robert Wilkie.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/CNN)

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie on Sunday defended President Trump amid criticism stemming from reports that he has made disparaging remarks about U.S. service members in the past.

In an appearance on CNN's State of the Union, Wilkie didn't argue the reported comments weren't insulting — in fact, he said he would be offended by them. Instead, he dismissed the idea that Trump ever said them in the first place, implying that he didn't trust the anonymous sources that multiple outlets, including Fox News, have used to confirm parts of the story.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.