First lady Melania Trump is hitting back at an anonymously sourced story published in The Atlantic claiming President Trump called fallen American soldiers “losers” and “suckers.”
This week, The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg published a story citing anonymous sources, claiming that Trump did not want to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at the site of Battle of Belleau Wood in 2018. The story, citing those anonymous sources, claims Trump called the cemetery “filled with losers” and referred to fallen soldiers who died at Belleau Wood as “suckers.”
Melania Trump wrote in a statement online that the “story is not true.”
“[The Atlantic] story is not true,” Mrs. Trump said. “It has become a very dangerous time when anonymous sources are believed above all else, & no one knows their motivation. This is not journalism – It is activism. And it is a disservice to the people of our great nation.”
.@TheAtlantic story is not true. It has become a very dangerous time when anonymous sources are believed above all else, & no one knows their motivation. This is not journalism – It is activism. And it is a disservice to the people of our great nation.
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) September 4, 2020
Trump has also denied the story, calling the piece “a totally fake story” that was “confirmed by many people who were actually there.” Likewise, a number of current and former White House officials who were with the president at the time say the story is untrue.
Former and current officials Jordan Karem, Stephen Miller, Johnny DeStefano, Sarah Sanders, Hogan Gidley, Dan Scavino, and John Bolton have said Goldberg’s story is untrue and is an attempt for the establishment media to smear the president.
The story comes as Trump has detailed a plan to bring American troops home from Afghanistan by cutting those deployed in the region by about half come November. Similarly, Trump’s pick for Afghanistan ambassador supports bringing all American troops home from the region.
Story cited here.
