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President Trump's Alleged Comments Disparaging the Military

US Military,Donald Trump,Military,Trump Administration,Journalism,2020 Election,Polarization,Campaign Rhetoric

From the Center

This Abridge News topic aggregates four unique arguments on different sides of the debate. Here are the quick facts to get you started:

THE QUICK FACTS

  • On September 3, The Atlantic published an article alleging, based on anonymous sources, that President Donald Trump had made several disparaging comments about military service members.
  • Trump quickly denied making the comments, calling the article a "hoax" and the anonymous sources "liars." The White House backed up Trump's claims, with Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany saying that 19 on-the-record sources had dismissed the story as "fundamentally untrue."
  • Multiple news outlets—including The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Associated Press, and Fox News—independently confirmed parts of The Atlantic article.
  • Claims made by the Atlantic article include: Trump refusing to visit a WWI cemetery, calling WWI dead "suckers" and "losers"; asking that wounded veterans be removed from military parades because "nobody wants to see that"; and inquiring, in reference to America's all-volunteer force, "I don't get it. What was in it for them?"

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