Politico reports:

President Donald Trump on Monday accused the United States’ military leadership of being beholden to arms manufacturers, in an attack on his own administration only days after reports that he had mocked fallen soldiers.

Speaking at a combative White House news conference, Trump said leaders at the Pentagon probably weren’t “in love with me” because “they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.”

“Some people don’t like to come home, some people like to continue to spend money,” Trump said. “One cold-hearted globalist betrayal after another, that’s what it was.”

He asserted that while U.S. troops largely support him, he does not receive the same affinity from the top. He made the comment as he advocated for the removal of American troops from “endless wars” and lambasted NATO allies who “rip us off.”

The remarks come after The Atlantic reported that Trump disparaged American troops as “suckers” and “losers” for dying in battle. The article, which has been corroborated by a number of news outlets, sent shock waves through Washington. Trump and his surrogates denied the story with vehemence rarely seen from the White House.

During his Monday news conference, Trump repeated those denials, saying that “only an animal would say a thing like that.”

The Atlantic report also said Trump made dismissive remarks while visiting the grave of John Kelly’s son at Arlington National Cemetery. Kelly was Trump’s chief of staff at the time and is a retired Marine general. He was ousted from his White House post in January 2019, and Trump has since routinely disparaged Kelly as incapable. [Continue reading…]