Trump allegedly called war dead ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’

WASHINGTON: A new report details multiple instances of President Donald Trump making disparaging remarks about members of the US military who have been captured or killed.

The remarks allegedly include referring to the American war dead at the AisneMarne American Cemetery in France in 2018 as ‘‘losers’’ and ‘‘suckers’’.

The allegations were first reported in The Atlantic.

A senior Defence Department official with firsthand knowledge of events confirmed some of the remarks, including the 2018 cemetery comments.

The official said Trump made them as he begged off visiting the cemetery during a meeting on November 10, 2018.

Staffers from the National Security Council and the Secret Service told Trump that rainy weather made helicopter travel to the cemetery risky, but they could drive there. Trump responded by saying he didn’t want to visit the cemetery because it was ‘‘filled with losers’’, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The White House blamed the cancelled visit on poor weather at the time.

In another conversation on the trip, The Atlantic said, Trump referred to the 1800 Marines who died in the World War 1 battle of Belleau Wood as ‘‘suckers’’ for getting killed.

‘‘This report is patently false,’’ said White House strategic communications director Alyssa Farah. ‘‘President Trump holds the military in the highest regard . . . These nameless anecdotes have no basis in fact and are offensive fiction.’’ — AAP