Retired lieutenant general: Military members are ‘furious’ with Trump over alleged comments on fallen soldiers

Retired Lt. General Mark Hertling said in a CNN interview that he has spoken with active military members as well as veterans who are “furious” after it was reported that President Trump called fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers.”

“It’s tough to speak out right now if you’re an active-duty serving general officer,” Hertling told CNN’s Don Lemon while discussing the reaction to Trump’s alleged comments. “By not saying anything, they’re saying a lot.”

His comment comes after The Atlantic reported that Trump canceled a trip to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018 because he was worried his hair would become disheveled by the rain, and openly asked senior staff why he should go to a cemetery that is filled with “losers.” 

The Atlantic story also claims that Trump referred to Marines killed at the Belleau Wood during World War I as “suckers.”

Herling went on to say in the Thursday interview that the military officers he has spoken with are outraged over the report.

“The military, the veterans I’ve talked to tonight, they are furious about this and they can’t understand why people are still supporting this individual who is doing these kinds of things,” he said. 

Trump has vehemently denied the claims from the report, which sparked an immediate backlash.

“It was a totally fake story, and that was confirmed by many people that were actually there,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. “It was a terrible thing that somebody could say the kind of things — especially to me because I have done more for the military than almost anybody else.”