Trump claims Pentagon chiefs aren't 'in love' with him, but 'the soldiers are'

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

During a press conference at the White House on Monday afternoon, President Trump again denied multiple reports that he privately called U.S. troops who were killed in combat "losers" and "suckers," declaring, "only an animal would say a thing like that."

Trump went on to tell reporters that his relationship with troops is completely different from his relationship with top military brass. "I'm not saying the military is in love with me, the soldiers are," he said. Last week, a Military Times poll found that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads Trump by 6 percentage points among active-duty troops. At this time in 2016, Trump had a 20-point lead over Hillary Clinton among active service members.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.