<em>The Atlantic Daily: </em>Trump Calls Americans Who Died in War ‘Losers’

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The president disparaged Americans who died in war as “losers” and “suckers,” multiple sources tell The Atlantic.

Our editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg reports:

When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true.

Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”

This scene is one of several newly revealed incidents wherein Trump disparaged military service. Sources told The Atlantic that the president has repeatedly belittled the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades.

Read the full report.

One question, answered: A reader asks, Can we expect more interesting animated movies or television shows this coming year? It seems to me that voice acting can be done remotely.

I asked Shirley Li, a culture writer who’s covered the voice-acting industry, to weigh in. She responds:

Given the right equipment, voice acting can be done from home—and during the first few months of the pandemic, the animation industry forged ahead, with actors, animators, and writers operating remotely. Studios ordered more animated work, Fox and other networks packed their fall schedules with 2-D mainstays such as The Simpsons, and animated movies’ streaming success indicates a clear demand, especially from families trying to entertain their kids at home.

That said, it takes years for an original animated project to go from conception to release, and just because animation pivoted more easily to the new status quo doesn’t mean the medium will dominate the big screen (or laptop screens) in the foreseeable future. A number of live-action productions have already resumed filming under strict health and safety guidelines, after all. But your question is whether to expect more interesting projects. That, I’m afraid, depends on your taste.

What to read if … you miss summer blockbusters:

Christopher Nolan’s Tenet might be the closest you’ll get to one in 2020. David Sims, a staff writer who reviews movies, wanted to watch the film twice. That’s not necessarily a good thing.

What to read if … you miss wandering a museum on a rainy day:

The writer Leslie Jamison reflects on a visit to New York’s Museum of Modern Art in the Before Times, when she (and her toddler) toured the work of Donald Judd—the minimalist who wasn’t.

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Caroline Mimbs Nyce is a senior associate editor at The Atlantic.