CLAIM: President Donald Trump called American veterans “suckers” and “losers,” as “confirmed by every outlet.”
VERDICT: FALSE: That has not been confirmed by any outlet, and is considered debunked.
Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed in a speech Monday in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, that President Donald Trump had referred to veterans as “losers” and “suckers,” and that it had been “confirmed by every outlet” that he had done so.
Of all the things Trump has said and done, nothing is more offensive than the way he’s spoken about many of you, and the brave women and men who’ve served this nation in uniform, those who’ve given their lives in service of this nation. It’s been confirmed by every outlet that he referred to them as “losers” and “suckers.” That’s what Trump calls those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice.
Biden was referring to a story in The Atlantic earlier this month that claimed — citing four anonymous sources — that Trump had specifically referred to the American dead in a World War I military cemetery in Europe as “suckers” and “losers.” (Biden went further, claiming Trump had been accused of referring to all veterans that way.)
No one else has corroborated the Atlantic‘s claim. Even Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, who claimed that she had “confirmed” other details in the story (from two similarly anonymous sources), could not confirm the Atlantic‘s “suckers” and “losers” claim.
Moreover, more a dozen current and former Trump administration officials have publicly and demonstratively denied the claims in the Atlantic article — including former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who has become a Trump critic.
Biden also claimed that Trump considered his own supporters “disgusting” and believed a benefit of the coronavirus pandemic was that he would not have to shake his supporters’ hands.
Biden was quoting — or misquoting — a disgruntled former administration employee who recently claimed — without evidence — that the president had said: “Maybe this Covid thing is a good thing. I don’t like shaking hands with people. I don’t have to shake hands with these disgusting people.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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