Trump lashes out at ‘slimeball reporter’ amid furor over alleged war dead remarks

President Trump on Saturday lashed out at the journalist behind this week’s explosive report that claimed he had disparaged slain American soldiers buried in France, calling the reporter a “slimeball.”

Trump suggested in a pair of tweets that the author of the report, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, may have been working with “disgruntled people” intent on seeing him lose reelection. He compared the magazine story to the controversial dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele in 2016, which alleged that Russia had compromising material on Trump.

“You work so hard for the military, from completely rebuilding a depleted mess that was left by OBiden, to fixing a broken V.A. and fighting for large scale military pay raises, and then a slimeball reporter, maybe working with disgruntled people, makes up such a horrible charge,” Trump tweeted without mentioning Goldberg by name.

“This reminds me of the Dirty Dossier, which was pushed hard by John McCain, & then with a thud turned out to be a total fraud. So many other scams also. The Radical Far Left is VICIOUS, they will do or say anything to win. But they won’t, we will WIN, & have four great years!” Trump added.

….This reminds me of the Dirty Dossier, which was pushed hard by John McCain, & then with a thud turned out to be a total fraud. So many other scams also. The Radical Far Left is VICIOUS, they will do or say anything to win. But they won’t, we will WIN, & have four great years!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2020

Trump separately went after a Fox News reporter on Saturday morning, calling for her to be fired after she reported that former officials had confirmed key details of The Atlantic’s story to her.

Goldberg serves as editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, and the magazine has stood by its story since it was published on Thursday.

Trump’s latest broadside comes as the White House plays defense over the report, which alleged that Trump had called slain American soldiers buried at a French cemetery “losers” and “suckers.”

Goldberg reported that Trump decided to not go to a ceremony at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in 2018 because he was worried that rain would dishevel his hair.

“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers,” Trump reportedly told aides.

Multiple news outlets have confirmed certain details of the initial report.

The story also said the president made disparaging remarks about the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and opposed lowering flags to half-staff following his death in 2018.

The president has vehemently denied the report, but he has continued to face intense criticism over it, with Democrats saying the story is further proof that he is not fit to serve as commander in chief.

“If what is written in The Atlantic is true, it’s disgusting,” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Friday. “It affirms what most of us believe to be true, that Donald Trump is not fit to be the commander in chief.”

Several White House aides have come out to deny The Atlantic article, and Vice President Pence on Friday also dismissed it as an “anonymous smear job.”

“If they really exist, if people really exist that would have said that, they’re low lifes and they’re liars,” Trump told reporters on Thursday evening. “And I would be willing to swear on anything that I never said that about our fallen heroes. There is nobody that respects them more.”