Military veterans fire on Donald Trump over ‘losers’ claim

Military veterans and politicians have rounded on Donald Trump over allegations he had called Marines killed in World War I ‘losers’ and ‘suckers’.

Donald Trump poses with National Guard troops in Lake Charles, Louisiana in August/ Picture: AFP

Military veterans and politicians have rounded on Donald Trump over allegations he had called marines killed in World War I “losers” and “suckers”.

The US President was forced on to the backfoot to deny the claims, even demanding the sacking of a prominent Fox News journalist who confirmed the ­allegations, first published in The Atlantic magazine on Friday AEST.

The quotes were also corroborated independently by Associated Press, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Mr Trump said the report was “a disgraceful situation”.

“To think that I would make statements negative to our military when nobody has done what I’ve done, with the budgets and the military budget. It is a disgraceful situation,” he said.

The Atlantic reported — citing four anonymous sources who said they had first-hand knowledge of the discussions — that Mr Trump had referred to US marines buried in a World War I cemetery in France as “losers” and “suckers” for getting killed in action.

When visiting France in ­November 2018 for the centenary of the end of the war, Mr Trump did not visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris as originally planned, officially because bad weather grounded his helicopter.

But the magazine disputed that version of events, saying the President had been concerned that heavy rain would upset his hair. “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with ­losers,” he allegedly said.

Former US Defense secretary Chuck Hagel and former Secretary of State John Kerry during a trip to Sydney for the annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations in Sydney. Picture: Tim Hunter

The backlash against the report was swift, with Mr Trump sending a barrage of tweets to ­defend himself. “The Atlantic magazine is dying, like most magazines, so they make up a fake story in order to gain some relevance,” he said.

Later, Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin said two former administration officials had confirmed to her that the President “did not want to drive to honour American war dead” at the Aisne-Marne cemetery outside Paris.

One official also told her that Mr Trump had used the word “suckers” to denigrate the military, but in a different context ­related to the Vietnam War.

“When the President spoke about the Vietnam War, he said, ‘It was a stupid war. Anyone who went was a sucker’,” she quoted the unnamed official as saying.

“It was a character flaw of the President. He could not understand why someone would die for their country, not worth it,” the source said.

A furious Mr Trump tweeted: “Jennifer Griffin should be fired for this kind of reporting. Never even called us for comment. @FoxNews is gone!”

Several of Griffin’s colleagues at Fox defended her on Twitter, along with Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, who called her “fair and unafraid”.

Veterans’ groups were among those condemning Mr Trump, less than two months from the 2020 election.

Progressive group VoteVets posted a video of families whose children had been killed in action. “You don’t know what it is to ­sacrifice,” said one.

Paul Rieckhoff of the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, tweeted: “Who is really surprised by this?”

Former US defence secretary Chuck Hagel called on The ­Atlantic’s four anonymous ­sources to come forward and name themselves to “stop enabling this guy”.

Mr Trump’s Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, said his rival was “unfit” to lead. “Mr President, if you don’t respect our troops, you can’t lead them,” he tweeted.

Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, a veteran who lost both legs while serving in Iraq, said Mr Trump “liked to use the US military for his own ego”.

In a rare move, first lady Melania Trump weighed in on the story on Twitter, calling it “not true”. “It has become a very dangerous time when anonymous sources are believed above all else, & no one knows their ­motivation … it is a disservice to the people of our great nation,” she said.

AFP, Agencies