The Atlantic Magazine just published a spine-chilling story about Donald Trump and his abhorrent remarks about America's veterans and war dead. “Why should I go to that cemetery?” Trump is reported to have said. “It’s filled with losers.” He later added that the 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood were “suckers” for getting killed.

The article was well researched and contained testimony from four sources. It was corroborated by at least three other news organizations. And most of all, it's entirely consistent with Trump's prior public statements disparaging veterans and POWs, including the late Sen. John McCain. Naturally, Trump quickly denied these reports in terms typical of his substanceless, “slash and burn” character (or lack thereof):

x The Atlantic Magazine is dying, like most magazines, so they make up a fake story in order to gain some relevance. Story already refuted, but this is what we are up against. Just like the Fake Dossier. You fight and and fight, and then people realize it was a total fraud!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2020

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Notice that Trump's denial is simply an ad hominem attack on the messenger. That's what he always does. He has no coherent defense based on facts or reality, so he goes for the throat with defamatory rhetoric that virtually no one believes, other than his glassy-eyed cult followers. What follows is a brief history of this psychotic, knee-jerk reaction to any critical news that riles Trump:

If every media enterprise that Trump said was dying actually died there wouldn't be anything left but the National Enquirer. Oh wait. That died. Trump knows that there is no defense for what he said, so he resorts to these petulant tantrums in the hopes of persuading some of his dimwitted disciples that he isn't a cretinous traitor.

Clearly, that isn't working. Trump's approval ratings continue to fall, and he's getting crushed by Joe Biden in every national poll, as well as in most of the crucial swing states. And for the most despicable president in U.S. history, it's all downhill from here.