Retired U.S. Marine Corps General John Kelly — who served as Secretary of Homeland Security and White House Chief of Staff in the Trump administration — said in 2020 that when Donald Trump was President of the United States, Trump called wounded soldiers “losers” and said dead veterans were “suckers” for getting killed.
Kelly’s claim resurfaced this week while President Joe Biden was in France where he honored WWII soldiers and visited the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris. Trump famously did not visit the cemetery during his visit to France in 2018, claiming “the helicopter couldn’t fly” there and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there — due to weather conditions. (Aligning with Biden’s visit, the Biden campaign used Trump’s alleged statements in an ad aimed at emphasizing a difference between Trump’s and Biden’s views of military service.)
Trump continues to deny Kelly’s story and this weekend called it “made up disinformation.” The presumptive GOP presidential nominee wrote on social media: “Anytime you see that despicable FAKE statement used, remember that it comes from the FASCIST SCUM that is destroying our Country.” Trump — who has never served in the military — also claimed that “no one has done more for the military” than he.
[Kelly’s statement described Trump as “A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.”]
JOHN KELLY IS CORRECT*
Former Wht Hse. Chief of Staff John Kelly stated that Trump privately disparaged U.S. Service Members & Veterans.
“Trump remarked that our Heroes are ‘losers’ because they were captured, or lost their lives in defense of America”.https://t.co/s2Ehlvs1yn
— Judy (@Ink8Judy) June 10, 2024
Trump-endorsed U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who served as an airfield management specialist in the U.S. Air Force, echoed Trump’s dismissal of Kelly’s claim and “personally attested” to Trump’s “respect and love for our great veterans.”
Luna bashed General Kelly for “spreading lies” about Trump “for a few minutes of fame” and referred to him as a “TV General.”
My husband and I, both veterans, can personally attest that President Trump has nothing but respect and love for our great veterans.
It’s pathetic that General John Kelly continues to spread such nasty, debunked lies about Trump for a few minutes of fame.
America deserves…
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) June 9, 2024
Note: The highly-decorated 4-star General Kelly, who enlisted in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, served in Operation Desert Storm and the Iraq War. His 29-year-old son, First Lieutenant Robert Michael Kelly, was killed in action while leading a platoon of Marines in Afghanistan.