The incident, which created a firestorm, is part of a broader pattern.
Trump has for years demonstrated a flippant attitude toward veterans and a general lack of knowledge about military history.
Theres no money in serving the nation.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23, 2024.Tom Brenner/The Washington Post/Getty Images
According toThe Atlantic, TrumpcalledAmerican soldiers who died in war losers and suckers in conversations with his senior staff.
Why should I go to that cemetery?
Its filled with losers, Trump apparently said.
Kellys son, Robert, was killed in Afghanistan and is buried in Arlington.
Standing by his grave, Trump turned to Kelly andsaid: I dont get it.
What was in it for them?
Trumps insensitivity has sometimes directly affected the families of soldiers.
He apparentlytoldher that her husband knew what he had signed up for.
Hes not a war hero, Trumpsaid.
He is a war hero because he was captured.
I like people who werent captured.
McCain was a prisoner of war at a notoriously abusive prison nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton, starting in 1967.
When McCain died, Trump reportedlysaid: Were not going to support that losers funeral.
The veterans told him that Francis Ford Coppolas 1979 filmApocalypse Nowportrayed napalm, not Agent Orange.
No, Trump replied, I think its that stuff from that movie.
