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Trump's ‘losers and suckers’ scandal: Who are the anonymous White House sources? Internet wants them to speak out

One user said, 'All these anonymous sources@WhiteHouse, you better step up and say everything'

The Atlantic report about President Donald Trump is still making news a day after it was published. For the uninitiated, a recent report by The Atlantic stated that Trump did not think it was important to honor the American war dead, according to four sources. “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers...,” Trump allegedly said in 2018 before he canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris. As per reports, he blamed the rain for the last-minute decision and said “the helicopter couldn’t fly”. However, none of it was true.

Moreover, on the same trip, he also allegedly called more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed. This wouldn’t be the first time that a Trump comment like this has surfaced on the Internet. Expressing his contempt for late Senator John McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese, Trump said in 2015: “He’s not a war hero,” adding, “I like people who weren’t captured.” At that time, he was running for the Republican nomination for president, but he continued the criticism through his years at the White House.

White House spokesperson Alyssa Farah emailed a statement to The Atlantic, shortly after the story was posted: “This report is false. President Trump holds the military in the highest regard. He’s demonstrated his commitment to them at every turn: delivering on his promise to give our troops a much-needed pay raise, increasing military spending, signing critical veterans reforms, and supporting military spouses. This has no basis in fact.”

Fox News correspondent John Roberts on September 4 said on-air, as per Daily Beast, that two anonymous sources have denied The Atlantic report, saying “the president never said that according to both of these sources.” However, Jennifer Griffin, a national security correspondent for Fox News, in a long Twitter thread confirmed that former Trump administration officials confirmed the president's remarks to her.

In one of its reports, Associated Press (AP) said, "The reported comments, many of which were confirmed independently by the AP, are shining a fresh light on Trump’s previous public disparaging of American troops and military families and opening a new political vulnerability for the president less than two months from Election Day." Even The Washington Post confirmed the story.

In subsequent tweets, she wrote: “Two former Sr Trump admin officials confirm .@JeffreyGoldberg reporting that President Trump disparaged veterans and did not want to drive to honor American war dead at Aisne-Marne Cemetery outside Paris.” She continued, “According to one former senior Trump administration official: "When the President spoke about the Vietnam War, he said, 'It was a stupid war. Anyone who went was a sucker'.” Griffin also wrote, “This former official heard the President say about American veterans: "What's in it for them? They don't make any money." Source: "It was a character flaw of the President. He could not understand why someone would die for their country, not worth it.”

Trump attacked and denied The Atlantic story on Twitter by saying, “The Atlantic Magazine is dying, like most magazines, so they make up a fake story in order to gain some relevance. The story already refuted, but this is what we are up against. Just like the Fake Dossier. You fight and fight, and then people realize it was a total fraud!”

Even the first lady Melania Trump took to Twitter to rubbish the report. FLOTUS wrote: .@TheAtlantic story is not true. It has become a very dangerous time when anonymous sources are believed above all else, & no one knows their motivation. This is not journalism - It is activism. And it is a disservice to the people of our great nation.

Soon, Twitter joined in the conversation regarding ‘anonymous sources’, and many wanted these sources to speak up. One user said, "All these anonymous sources@WhiteHouse, you better step up and say everything you tell reporters about Trump, in the damn light. No one is safe with this man and you can’t speak on anonymity when this country is about to lose its democracy because you’re scared of one man."

One user commented, "Dear anonymous sources, he will find out who you are and your anonymity will be the very weapon he uses to destroy you in his second term. The only hope you have is that he loses, so speak up now, otherwise you may just as well not have bothered."

One user said, "Can any anonymous sources re Trump disparaging vets story just speak up publicly & quiet all these sycophants on the right? If you’re alive, understand English, & have followed the news in the last 1,908 days since Trump launched his campaign, the comments are on brand."

A user stated, "Please ask @JeffreyGoldberg
why his anonymous sources will not speak up, particularly those no longer in government service. Every branch of government has been politicized; it’s time for the sources to publicly stand behind their moral commitment rather than hide."

There were a few who were trying to guess who the sources, might be. Like one said, "If Kelly and Mattis weren’t two of the four officials, I’ll dye my hair purple."

Another opined, "I read it and wish these sources would stop playing the anonymous game.  What do Mattis and Kelly have to fear at this point?"