The far left outlet's fake news story claimed that President Trump called "Americans who died in war are ‘losers’ and ‘suckers.’”
The anonymously sourced story also claimed that Trump skipped a 2018 visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris, where the fallen of the battle of Belleau Wood are buried, because he feared rain would ruin his hair.
Two sources who were on the trip with Trump has since refuted the main thesis of The Atlantic's reporting -- that Trump canceled a trip because he believed the dead soldiers to be "losers."
Former Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton who is not a fan of the president also refuted the Atlantic's reporting.
Trump was reportedly upset about not being able to go to Aisne-Marne according to the officials who were present at the time. They said they had never heard Trump refer to war dead at Aisne-Marne or in the battle of Bellau Wood as "losers" or "suckers."
In a passage in Bolton's memoir, he actually defended Trump over the decision not to go to the Aisne-Marne.
"Marine One's crew was saying that bad visibility could make it imprudent to chopper to the cemetery," Bolton wrote. "The ceiling was not too low for Marines to fly in combat, but flying POTUS was obviously something very different. If a motorcade were necessary, it could take between ninety and a hundred and twenty minutes each way, along roads that were not exactly freeways, posing an unacceptable risk that we could not get the President out of France quickly enough in case of an emergency. It was a straightforward decision to cancel the visit..."
Bolton later added: "The press turned canceling the cemetery visit into a story that Trump was afraid of the rain and took glee in pointing out that other world leaders traveled around during the day. Of course, none of them were the President of the United States, but the press didn't understand that rules for US Presidents are different from rules for 190 other leaders who don't command the world's greatest military forces."
The decision not to go to the cemetery was reportedly made by then chief of staff John Kelly and his aide Zach Fuentes. Bolton also confirmed that Kelly was the one who recommended the move.
Democrat Party presidential nominee Joe Biden demanded Friday, that Trump apologize for his remarks, “if these statements are true.”
Trump slammed the story earlier on Twitter. "The Atlantic Magazine is dying, like most magazines, so they make up a fake story in order to gain some relevance," he tweeted. "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!"
Speaking to reporters during a White House press briefing Friday, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany displayed graphics that said The Atlantic article cited "4 anonymous sources to smear the President," while "10 on-the-record sources" debunk it.
She said "The liberal activists at The Atlantic ... are only interested in peddling conspiracy-laden propaganda."
McEnany said that "no one loves and cares for our service men and women as much as President Donald J. Trump."
Vice President Mike Pence called The Atlantic "absurd". He told Fox Business that "Any suggestion that this president doesn't love and respect the men and women of our armed forces and their families is absurd on its face to me because I have walked the grounds of Arlington National Cemetary side-by-side with President Donald Trump."
Speaking to reporters Friday at a White House press briefing, Trump said of the story, "It's a hoax. Just like the fake dossier was a hoax. Just like the Russia-Russia-Russia was a hoax. It was a total hoax."
He added, “You’ll hear more of these things, totally unrelated, as we get closer to election.”