The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief said Friday he kept sources anonymous in a story about President Donald Trump because the sources didn’t wish to face “angry tweets and all the rest.”
Jeffrey Goldberg explained why he allowed sources to remain anonymous in his Sept. 3 story, “Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers,’” during a Friday interview on CNN’s New Day. The story alleges that Trump called fallen soldiers “losers” and “sucker” and cites four anonymous sources with “firsthand knowledge.”
Multiple former and current members of the Trump administration who were on the trip where Trump allegedly made these remarks have denied Goldberg’s story, according to NBC News.
“They don’t want to be inundated with angry tweets and all the rest,” Goldberg said of the anonymous sources. “And we push hard, and that’s why you have to sort of do this reporting with even more belt-and-suspenders approach. You know, dotted i’s and crossed t’s and find multiple sources for it.”
“Each time, this is a judgment call, right,” Goldberg continued. “Does the public’s interest in needing this information outweigh the ambiguities or the difficulties of anonymous sourcing? And in this case, I decided that I felt I knew this information well enough from high enough sources and multiple sources that I thought we should put it out.”
Trump also denied the report himself, saying Friday according to the New York Times, “If people really exist that would have said that, they’re lowlifes and they’re liars. 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.”
He added, “What animal would say such a thing?”
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