“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.”
—Retired Gen. Jim Mattis, in the wake of The Atlantic magazine’s story about Donald Trump’s refusal to visit a military cemetery in France to honor American soldiers killed in World War I, calling those killed “losers” and “suckers.’
“The phrase: ‘shocking if true’ is getting worn out. Lack of denial from my friends Generals (John) Kelly and Mattis suggest the shock is well placed. [I]f they do have firsthand knowledge of such quotes, will step up and affirm or deny the story.”
—Tweet by retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, on the possible source of The Atlantic story.
“Who the heck does he think he is?” How would you feel if you had a kid in Afghanistan right now? How would you feel if you lost a son or daughter, husband, wife? How would you feel, for real? But you know in your heart, you know in your gut: It’s deplorable.”
—Joe Biden, on the quotes attributed to Trump in the story.
“It’s a hoax … just like Russia, Russia, Russia,”
—Trump denial that sounds vaguely familiar.
“I get along with him, but every once in a while, he’ll come up with one that I say, ‘Where did that come from?’ I inherited him. He was here. He was part of this huge piece of machine.”
—Donald Trump, apparently preparing to dump Dr. Anthony Fauci, Aug. 31, 2020. [Oh, like we didn’t see that coming…]
“To the notion that there’s opposition research and that there’s Fauci versus the president couldn’t be further from the truth. Dr. Fauci and the president have always had a very good working relationship.”
—White House Precious Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, July 13, 2020. [From July 13 to Aug. 31 – 49 days. Even money says Fauci will be gone before election day.]
Louisiana Voice 
Here’s what John Bolton has to say about The Atlantic story [from Breitbart]:
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton has disputed a story in The Atlantic claiming that President Donald Trump called fallen World War I soldiers “losers.” Bolton told the New York Times Friday that “I was there” and “I didn’t hear that.”
So, I guess, as I am sure all Trumpers must, that: 1. John Bolton is a reliable source of information about anything. 2. That he has no ulterior motive like what a cynic might consider an attempt to get back in The Donald’s good graces. 3. That he heard every single thing the President said that day. 4. That Breitbart is a source of objective information.
BTW, what if Trump did not say, word-for-word, within Bolton’s earshot: “Fallen World War I soldiers are losers.” Then, Brietbart is reporting/repeating the truth and accomplishing its goals of supporting Trump via bias, stoking the flames of civil unrest, and attempting to make itself relevant.
On the other hand, if the story in The Atlantic is not true, it risked its reputation publishing it. Unless it is desperate, it is hard to imagine it would emulate The National Enquirer in an attempt to increase readership.
I don’t see why there is any doubt. Anyone who has followed Trump’s Malignant Narcissist tweets and rants for these past 3+ years understands exactly how his mind works. Why would he dodge the draft (as a family tradition), why would he refer to all of the United States military as “My Generals, My Soldiers, My….”? Why has he always found someone or something to blame when he screws up? Why has he lied all of the time about everything….except when he sometimes tell us the truth….if you can’t get something out of it….it isn’t worth doing…. AND, everyone with ears and eyes heard and saw Trump defile a prisoner of war hero as a loser because he got captured during the last presidential campaign. There you have it plus the fact that he refused to visit the cemetery for no apparent good reason….
After reading the article, it seems to me that he may not have understood anything about the history of the cemetery, the battle that created it, or the fact that American servicemen are buried there (or why). He’s certainly not known for his knowledge of history. Either way, I can’t believe the country is chasing this story. All it really does is create another huge distraction for trump, which he’s using to “change the subject” again. I’m retired military and his ignorant disparaging remarks toward anyone, including veterans, is no shock to me.
Just my $.02.
I could not agree more. If the anonymous source(s) refuse to go on record, he can claim fake news with impunity all day long. The conservatives on Facebook are having a heyday with this. It is not as ridiculous as the coverage given to Nancy Pelosi’s Brazilian Blowout or whatever it was, but it does simply amplify what those wearing our jersey believed about him all along, true or false. The media needs to stick with hard news, but, in the spirit of competition with sensationalism, a lot of it won’t and the one source that maintains an even keel, public television, is apparently too boring for a lot of people. Soooooo, the mainstream media is giving the public and its sponsors what they want regardless of the effect on our overall well-being or that of our country. It has as much conscience as our President – which is to say none.
– “Soooooo, the mainstream media is giving the public and its sponsors what they want regardless of the effect on our overall well-being or that of our country.”
Yep… I’ve said that for years. But isn’t that kind of the way the system is supposed to work? I recognize that the media is a business and, like most other businesses, will subjugate itself to those who control the purse strings, to some degree. Still, it’s better than giving government (or anyone else) control. Since we haven’t discovered a better method, and given that it has worked better than anything else in history… at least for the last couple hundred years… we’re stuck with it. There will always be sensationalism because journalists are trying to earn a paycheck and our system of government explicitly prohibits control of the press, with few notable exceptions. The “check” on dishonest reporting rests in the hands of the consumer, which relies on a reasonably educated population to identify and push back on those types of stories. But our education record as a country would seem to suggest the problem. If 1 in 10 don’t even complete compulsory education requirements and only 1 in 3 complete college; then it would suggest why readers could have difficulty identifying what news to trust. When you also consider the effect of social media providing an easy avenue for anyone to assume the role of a journalist, regardless of their credentials, motivations or country of origin, then it’s not surprising that we’ve entered the age of “fake news”.
When I was stationed in Iraq, I was incensed by the daylight between what was reported on our activities in Al Anbar province… and what we actually did. But no matter how angry we became, we didn’t label the press as the enemy and try to destroy public confidence in them. As I tell my family frequently… if you think this administration is corrupt now, just imagine if there was no press to report on it. The only thing that has kept trump’s ignorant ass in line so far is the effect of the press exposing those things that he tries desperately to conceal. When we’ve all become so numb to his now predictable antics, it’s no surprise that the reporting has become more sensational. Honestly, I’m surprised that the Atlantic article headline wasn’t more sensationalistic. I was actually expecting something more like:
“2nd generation descendant of german immigrant accused of ridiculing remains buried in French cemetery honoring Soldiers killed by germans in WWI Battle of Belleau Wood, calling them ‘losers and suckers’”.
So, TL;DR… this is how I cope with the press, lol.
Hitler in Mien kamp, ‘the first thing I did was to take over the propaganda…’ and if you want to review the GOP communication plan, check out page 319 in John Tolands Adolf Hitler, Many of the slogans are the same with the Trumpsters. Great comments, Can you name the Russian Covid vaccine?? think I read “sputnik”47 ?? Yes the Russians are controlling Trump and I am confident the press is doing a great job. thanks ron thompson