On Saturday night in South Carolina, President Joe Biden delivered a speech where he expressed strong emotions and reiterated a claim regarding former President Donald Trump’s alleged disrespect for fallen American soldiers. Biden accused Trump of refusing to visit a U.S. cemetery outside Paris for fallen soldiers, quoting him as referring to them as “suckers and losers.” This claim had been previously debunked.
In September 2020, former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany criticized Jeffrey Goldberg’s reporting in The Atlantic, labeling it a “suckers and losers” hoax. McEnany stated that ten sources had gone on the record to debunk the allegations, with eight having firsthand knowledge and confirming that the story was false. She cited Derek Lyons, Counselor to the President, and Dan Walsh, a former Deputy Chief of Staff and retired military commander, both of whom refuted The Atlantic’s claims. McEnany emphasized that a bad weather call in France had prevented helicopters from safely making the flight, and she praised Trump’s consistent support and respect for American troops.
Critics, including Mollie Hemingway from The Federalist and international security professor Max Abrahms, disapproved of The Atlantic’s report, highlighting the reliance on anonymous sources and drawing parallels with questionable journalism preceding the Iraq war.
Biden’s emotional response included defending his son Beau Biden, who passed away in 2015 from brain cancer. The president made a misleading insinuation, categorizing Beau as a “fallen American soldier” during his diatribe. This contradicts the factual cause of Beau Biden’s death, which occurred years after his military service, attributing the brain cancer to toxic burn pits in Iraq.
