Trump's Former Chief of Staff Claims He Insulted Fallen Soldiers, Called Them 'Suckers and Losers'

The first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump had many controversial moments. As per The Hill, one of the most highlighted remarks was when Biden brought up the notion that Trump had verbally insulted American troops in the past, especially those who had suffered injuries or lost their lives in battle. “My son served in Iraq,” Biden said. “He lived next to burn pits. He came back with glioblastoma…. He [Trump] called veterans suckers and losers. My son was not a loser. He was not a sucker. You’re the loser. You're the sucker.”

Harry Sisson, a young Democrat shared a clip on X agreeing with Biden's previous comments, he wrote, "BOOM: Here is the clip of Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff Confirming that Trump called fallen American soldiers “losers and suckers.” This is damning. Repost and spread this everywhere." However, netizens called out the malicious propaganda and stated that the Republican leader never made such a statement against the fallen heroes. 

An X user mocked: "The guy he fired made it up. Lol. Why is this guy more reliable than the 19 others that said it’s a lie? He’s not." A critic questioned: "When does this video get to the proof? Just because Jake the snake is reading the teleprompter doesn’t make it’s true. Also, John Kelly was/is butt hurt like Mike Pence." Another X user warned the young Democrat: "Words of wisdom, you must have aspirations of a future congressman. So be careful what you say because it is all on video, it will come back to haunt you when you least expect it. You need to walk on both sides of the isle." 

A few X users criticized Trump: "Why veterans would believe a pathological lying draft dodger who violated our constitution and tried to overthrow our government over a general who served with distinction is beyond me. @RobertKennedyJr has my vote." Someone chimed in: "It's funny that people even think about voting for a convicted felon instead of someone who tells them the truth." Another critic disagreed with the clip: "For the love of God. There is no proof Trump said that & after his performance with vets & military personnel, I don't believe it."

Another critic warned Sisson: "You'd better be careful before you wind up being sued for defamation kid." Someone criticized: "So, One person, a disgruntled former employee who was fired out of the 20 who were there, said that. Do you know what hearsay is Harry?" Another X user called out Sisson: "Harry, you are in the correct party. The party of slavery, insurrectionists. Racist, Liars, and store-bought propagandists like you."

Trump had immediately denied the comments during the debate, saying in part: “That was a made-up quote. ‘Suckers and losers.’ They made it up. It was in a third-rate magazine that’s failing — like many of these magazines. He [Biden] made that up. He put it in commercials. We had 19 people who said I didn’t say it.” John Kelly, Trump's former chief of staff  had revealed in 2018 that the 2024 GOP frontrunner referred to deceased veterans as "suckers."

On September 3, 2020, a report from The Atlantic that cited multiple sources first referred to the remarks about "losers and suckers." The article titled "Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are 'Losers' and 'Suckers'" described that the then-president postponed his visit to the American Cemetery in Aisne-Marne, France, in 2018. 

According to the publication's trusted sources, Trump canceled the trip, citing that "the helicopter couldn't fly" and that the Secret Service wouldn't be able to get him there. However, neither of these claims were accurate. Instead, according to people close to the Republican politician, the trip was canceled because he was concerned that his hair would look horrible in the rain when the media would take pictures.

Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic reported that Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” The news outlet also revealed that Trump referred to the Marines who lost their lives in the Battle of Belleau Wood as "suckers" in another interaction that took place during the trip to France.