Trump Calls War Dead “Losers” and “Suckers” in Explosive New Article
A bombshell new article in The Atlantic alleges that Donald Trump–who famously received five deferments from military service due to “bone spurs”–called American service people who died in foreign wars “losers” and “suckers”, and requested any wounded veterans be kept out of all official military parades.
According to the new piece by Jeffrey Goldberg, Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, blaming the rain for the last-minute decision. Trump’s claims that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there weren’t true.

Goldberg writes: “Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, 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 has often tried to mask his hostility for the American military, both active and former. Aside from being famously anointed “Cadet Bone Spurs” by veteran Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both of her legs in combat during the Iraq War, Trump forced an in-person graduation at West Point despite the coronavirus pandemic, insulted a Gold Star Family, and said of the late John McCain, “I like war heroes who weren’t captured.”
Trump’s comments were seemingly confirmed by former Department of Homeland Security Chief of Staff Miles Taylor, who tweeted that they weren’t “mainstream media lies”.
To the skeptical: these aren’t “mainstream media” lies. This is who the Commander-in-Chief really is—and everyone in his orbit knows it. Character is all that matters in this election. https://t.co/mdN3FXSYNI
— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) September 3, 2020
Veterans on Twitter immediately jumped on the news to share their take on Trump’s latest attack on our military.
This story doesn’t just make me angry. It makes me feel sick. It’s disgusting. It’s an unthinkable betrayal.
What does the President think of our friends and loved ones in Afghanistan tonight?
What does he think of those we’ve lost to suicide?
He hates them. He hates them. https://t.co/aixkEtxrwu
— Will Goodwin (@Will_P_Goodwin) September 3, 2020
📌I have sat quietly raging about this one …
📌Look, there are millions of us #VetsAgainstTrump who are repulsed by this sickening coward, who serves only himself.
📌It is all so heartbreaking. He truly hates this country.
📌Please support @JoeBiden https://t.co/8X8Fi9jfYQ
— D. Earl Stephens (@EarlOfEnough) September 3, 2020
There are no words for how disgusting and dishonorable this is. https://t.co/M8ki3GAT4M
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) September 3, 2020