US President Donald Trump has denied the claim that he called the American soldiers who died in the fighting anything other than heroes, he said.
Trump added that all that is below is pure false news fabricated by parties he described as a failure in an attempt to influence the presidential elections, and he criticized the magazine "The Atlantic" that published these allegations, saying that he did not read them.
He said, "The belief that I can declare negatively towards our army and our heroes who died in the battles when no one did what I did, such as the military budget and the army’s salary increase, is a shameful matter behind which a bad magazine I do not read."
Esper: President Trump respects and admires American soldiers (Reuters)
Respect and admiration
For his part, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said - Friday - that President Trump has respect and admiration for American soldiers and veterans, after "The Atlantic" magazine reported a report saying that Trump described the American soldiers who were killed and buried in Europe as "losers." He refused to visit an American cemetery because he thought the matter was not important.
"President Trump has all the respect and admiration for our military, veterans, and their families, which is why he's fighting to raise wages and increase funding for our armed forces," Esper said in a statement.