Social media is continuing to speak out following a Thursday report that President Donald Trump referred to fallen U.S. soldiers as "losers" and "suckers." In the hours since The Atlantic's report, which claims the president made the remarks when refusing to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetary during his trip to Paris in 2018, surfaced, the phrase "Trump Hates Veterans" has trended on Twitter as Americans condemn Trump's rhetoric.
According to four sources who spoke to The Atlantic, but were not named, the president did not want to visit the cemetery because he feared his hair would get disheveled in the rain. On the morning of the visit, Trump allegedly told staffers, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." He later stated that the Marines killed at Belleau Wood, where American marines and the Allies stopped Germany's advance to Paris in 1918, were "suckers" for dying. He is also said to have stated late Sen. John McCain, a Vietnam War hero, was a "f—ing loser."
Both Trump and the White House have denied the report, which the president said Thursday evening was "a disgraceful situation by a magazine that is a terrible magazine." The president suggested that the information was "made up," insisting he "never said that about our fallen heroes." The White House, meanwhile, in a statement to NBC News, said the report "has no basis in fact," adding that Trump "holds the military in the highest regard."
Still, given the president's past controversial remarks about military service, not everyone believes the denouncement of the report. Across social media, Americans and veterans are criticizing the president. Scroll down to see what they are saying.