Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’
The president has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades
according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.
Trump did call fallen soldiers "losers," his former chief of staff says
Former President Trump didn't want to visit
a cemetery near Paris for Americans who fought and died in World War I because it was filled with "suckers" and "losers," John Kelly, his longest-serving chief of staff, said in a statement to
CNN on Monday.
Why it matters: In the statement, Kelly supported this and several other instances of Trump disparaging service members that were reported by
The Atlantic in 2020 and vehemently denied at the time by the
Republican 2024 presidential front-runner.
Of note: Fox News
reporter Jennifer Griffin previously confirmed parts of The Atlantic's story, including his refusal to visit the Aisne-Marne Cemetery in France.