Vice President Mike Pence is refuting a report released by The Atlantic claiming President Donald Trump called soldiers buried in the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris “losers” and Marines who died at the Battle of Belleau Wood during World War I “suckers.”
Appearing on CNBC on Friday, Pence expressed his frustration with the report and is adamant it never happened.
“I reject this out of hand as everyone has spoken out on it and I think the American people see through this for what it is, just one more anonymous smear job with an election just a couple of months away,” Pence said.
He added, “Our armed forces like the two members of my immediate family know that they have a champion and an ally in President Donald Trump, and they have a commander in chief who deeply respects them and their families and our veterans.”
Watch his comments below:
The Atlantic reporting President Trump disparaged fallen military members. The President and White House officials have vehemently denied the claim.@VP Mike Pence joined us with his comments.@CNBC pic.twitter.com/t2JfAIwwEc
— Squawk on the Street (@SquawkStreet) September 4, 2020
Pence said he was not with the president at the time, but it “never happened.”
He explained how Trump was “disappointed” his trip to honor fallen soldiers was canceled due to the weather.
Pence stressed he has never “been with anyone” who “cares more deeply” about the men and women of the nation’s armed forces.
He argued under the Obama administration the military was “hallowed out” by budget cuts.
Trump himself denied the report as he was returning from a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday, as IJR previously reported.
He said he “would be willing to swear on anything” he did not say anything about the nation’s fallen soldiers and he thinks “it’s a horrible, horrible thing.”
The president launched an attack on The Atlantic on Twitter on Friday.
“The Atlantic Magazine is dying, like most magazines, so they make up a fake story in order to gain some relevance,” Trump said.
He continued, “Story already refuted, but this is what we are up against. Just like the Fake Dossier. You fight and and fight, and then people realize it was a total fraud!”
The Atlantic Magazine is dying, like most magazines, so they make up a fake story in order to gain some relevance. Story already refuted, but this is what we are up against. Just like the Fake Dossier. You fight and and fight, and then people realize it was a total fraud!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2020
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden also offered his thoughts on the matter, as IJR previously reported.
Biden said in a statement the report is “another marker of how deeply” he and Trump disagree on what it means to be president of the United States.
The former vice president promised if he is elected, he will make sure soldiers know he will “have their back and honor their sacrifice.”
