September 6, 2020
Losers, suckers, and the 'wrap-up' smear
By John Dietrich
The media is calling out its anonymous sources to criticize the president.
Jeffrey Goldberg has written an article in The Atlantic claiming that President Trump "repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members." Goldberg contends President Donald Trump lied when he canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in 2018, claiming that the helicopter couldn’t fly due to weather. According to Goldberg, Trump refused to visit because his hair would be disheveled in the rain and it was unimportant to honor American war dead. "According to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion" Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.†In a later conversation Trump referred to the Marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers.†He also reportedly questioned, “Who were the good guys in this war?â€
In order to bolster his claim that Trump is anti-military Goldberg references Trump's relationship with Senator John McCain. Goldberg claims, "Trump’s understanding of concepts such as patriotism, service, and sacrifice has interested me since he expressed contempt for the war record of the late Senator John McCain." Goldberg also mentions Trump's criticism of the parents of Humayun Khan, an Army captain who was killed in Iraq. It should be noted that his criticism had been in response to their attacks.
Goldberg's information is attributed to anonymous sources: "three sources with direct knowledge of this event," "sources with direct knowledge of his views," one officer with firsthand knowledge of Trump’s views" and "according to eyewitnesses." Goldberg stressed that "These sources, and others quoted in this article, spoke on condition of anonymity." The problem is that anonymous sources are getting old. An “extremely credible source†told Harry Reid that Mitt Romney hadn’t paid taxes for 10 years. Reid later admitted this claim was false, telling Dana Bash “I don’t regret that at all. Romney didn’t win did he?â€
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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/09/losers_suckers_and_the_wrapup_smear.html
