Donald Trump is again denying that he called American soldiers who died in World War I in France “suckers” and “losers,” as attention has returned to the alleged comments during Joe Biden’s recently concluded state visit to the country.
During a rally Sunday in Las Vegas, the former president called the alleged comments “disinformation” reported by the “fake news.”
“Think of it from a practical standpoint, I’m standing there with generals and military people, in a cemetery and I look at them, I say, ‘These people are suckers and losers,’” he began.
“Now, think of it,” he continued, “unless you’re a psycho or a crazy person or a very stupid person—who would say that anyway—but who would say it to military people?”
In fact, no one is alleging Trump made the insults at a French cemetery.
Trump reportedly snubbed a planned commemoration for the 100th anniversary of WWI at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, fearing his hair would become disheveled in the rain, The Atlantic reported in 2020.
“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers,” Trump reportedly told staffers, according to the magazine. The then-president also called the more than 1,800 Marines buried there “suckers” elsewhere during his 2018 trip in France, per The Atlantic.
John Kelly, a former Marine Corps general and the White House chief of staff at the time, attended in Trump’s place.
Kelly, one of whose sons was killed in action while serving in Afghanistan in 2010, later told CNN Trump had in fact made the derogatory remarks, describing him in a statement as someone who “rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.”
The Biden campaign, facing an extremely tight race against Trump in November, has sought to use Trump’s comments about the military.
A recent campaign ad cuts footage of dead American servicemembers returning home in coffins with Trump’s past remarks denigrating soldiers.
