Donald Trump referred to military veterans as 'suckers and losers'.
Said by Rep. Jason Crow, Checked Updated
- Sources
- 2 contradict3 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
Deadline: White HouseOct 22, 2026
Former chief of staff John Kelly reportedly confirmed Trump called fallen troops 'suckers' and 'losers', and multiple outlets reported the Atlantic account, though Trump denies it and Snopes says no recording or transcript independently confirms the remarks.
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What was said
… ever more fantastical, and the combination of those two things seems like it could be pretty dangerous as we barrel towards the last two years in the Trump administration, especially for the people for whom it has only become more true of his indifference. He called veterans who sacrifice, quote, losers and suckers. He said to John Kelly, quote, I don't understand why they do it. He has never understood the men and women who make the decision to serve the country. …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. FactCheck.org reports that Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general and former Trump chief of staff, later seemed to confirm that Trump made the 'suckers' remark.[1]
Supports. NBC News reports that Kelly confirmed Trump privately disparaged service members and veterans, quoting Kelly's own account of Trump calling them 'suckers' and 'losers'.[4]
Supports. The Hill reports that the 'suckers' remark was later confirmed by former chief of staff John Kelly, after Trump had denied it.[5]
Contradicts. Trump has consistently denied making the remarks, calling the Atlantic report a fake story and a hoax.[6][7]
Context. Snopes notes the original reporting relied on anonymous sources, with no audio, video, or transcript to independently confirm the remarks, and says it cannot say for certain whether Trump made them.[2]
Context. The AP reports that former officials claimed Trump disparaged fallen service members as 'suckers' and 'losers' when he skipped a 2018 cemetery visit in France, and that Trump denied it.[3]
Sources
7 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 3 tier 2, 1 tier 1
- 1FactChecking the Biden-Trump Debatefactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Did Trump call fallen troops 'suckers' and 'losers'? What we knowsnopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Iran war deaths could resurface Trump’s complicated history with military sacrificeapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 4John Kelly confirms Trump privately disparaged U.S. service ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5'Suckers': Biden campaign hits Trump over past comments ...thehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 6Trump Faces Uproar Over Reported Remarks Disparaging Fallen Soldiers (Published 2020)nytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 7Trump Faces Fallout After 'Atlantic' Says He Calls Military 'Losers ...npr.org · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
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