Commotion: Trump's Words on Military
The Claim
U.S. President Donald Trump disrespected fallen military personnel and veterans by calling them "losers" and "suckers."
News posted on
Emerging story
Sparks flew on September 3rd, 2020, when The Atlantic published an article titled “Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers.’” In this article, the author describes various disparaging comments Trump made against military personnel, including several specific incidents of disrespect.
Soon after, the claim went viral on social media, as well as viral posts combating the claim.
Misbar’s Analysis
A White House spokesperson emailed the writer of the article with this response:
“This report is false. President Trump holds the military in the highest regard. He’s demonstrated his commitment to them at every turn: delivering on his promise to give our troops a much-needed pay raise, increasing military spending, signing critical veterans reforms, and supporting military spouses. This has no basis in fact.”
Fox News, generally considered an ally of Trump, published an article on September 4th which disputed the main specific claim of The Atlantic’s article: that Trump refused to go to a military cemetery because he did not want to celebrate “losers” and “suckers.” Fox’s sources (who were also unnamed) notably did not dispute any of the other instances of military disrespect by Trump alleged in the article from The Atlantic.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany came out to publicly condemn the statements made in The Atlantic’s article, calling the anonymous sources “cowardly.” Trump himself also tweeted out an outraged response.
Misbar’s investigation discovered that since the sources of Fox News and The Atlantic both opted to remain anonymous, it is difficult to assess the credibility of either. In the case of The Atlantic, this decision was understandable. Those inside sources would have undoubtedly faced harsh consequences from the White House regardless of whether their statements were true or not.
We at Misbar have found this to be a “he said, she said” kind of scenario. It is perhaps an unfair generalization to say that he does not respect the military as a whole, but it is also possible that Trump is selective with who he praises. The truth, as usual, is likely more nuanced than either side of the argument would like to admit.
Trump infamously disparaged veteran John McCain because he was captured during the war, and called him a “loser.” However, in context the accusation of “loser” was more likely meant to be in reference to McCain’s unsuccessful run for President.
Trump has also shown public support for the military on many occasions, as his supporters pointed out in his defense. Although his voting base virtually demands such public showings, it would be near impossible to definitely claim that they are completely disingenuous.
