In a photo op at the Oval Office Friday to tout an agreement being signed between Serbia and Kosovo to normalize relations, President Trump pushed back against a multiple-sourced story about him demeaning members of the military and those wounded and killed in service to the nation.
Calling it a “fake story” and saying that The Atlantic magazine “won’t be around much longer,” Trump continued his attempts to dismiss the story that documents him calling US military killed in action “losers” and “suckers.”
“I’ve done more for the military than almost anyone else,” Trump said as he touted increased military spending.
“I’ve done more for the VA…. It’s got the highest approval rating, if you look at it, it’s got the highest approval rating ever–91%,” Trump claimed. [Fact Check: The VA health system had received a 93% approval rating from veterans as lately as 2014.]
After insulting his former National Security Advisor as “not good at what he did” and “no friend of [Trump’s],” Trump cited John Bolton’s as evidence that the statements were never made: “He didn’t even mention it.”
He also cited assertions some of his former staffers “who were there” as evidence that the claims were false.
When asked about his alleged statements denigrating those American military killed in action, Trump said, “They’re heroes. To me, they’re heroes.”