John Bolton Calls Trump’s Comments “Despicable” as Michael Cohen Claims Report Is Accurate

Two people who once worked closely with Donald Trump have weighed in on reports that he mocked dead troops and those missing in action. John Bolton and Michael Cohen both made remarks on Friday.

Bolton, the former National Security Advisor, gave an interview Friday morning. He claimed he hadn’t heard the President saying the exact comments reported, but suggested he probably had.

“These comments are despicable. If he made them, they are despicable,” Bolton told Bloomberg Radio.

Bolton said Trump may have said the comments ascribed to him by The Atlantic and other sources, and he’d heard the President express similar sentiments.

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“I have not heard anybody say, ‘Oh, that doesn’t sound like the Donald Trump I know,'” Bolton said. 

“He was prone to say from time to time: ‘What did they get out of it? What was the worth of the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan?'” Bolton said.

“That is a kind of insensitivity that Trump does have, there’s no doubt about it.”

Separately, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, claimed on Twitter that the comments ascribed to the President are true, pointing to his own congressional testimony.

“The Atlantic article is accurate,” Cohen said.

“I testified, ‘Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur. When I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He finished with: ‘You think I’m stupid, I wasn’t going to Vietnam.'”

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Darragh Roche

Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media