Donald Trump has dismissed claims he referred to US servicemen killed in war as “losers and suckers”.
The US president made a number of disparaging comments about members of the US military who had been captured or killed, according to a report.
Two senior defence officials allege that he made the remarks during a meeting in Paris on November 10, 2018.
Mr Trump was due to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in the city but staff from the National Security Council and the Secret Service told Mr Trump that rainy weather made helicopter travel to the site risky.
When they suggested driving there instead, the president allegedly replied that he would rather not go at all because the cemetery was “filled with losers”.
Mr Trump said the story, first reported in The Atlantic, is “totally false”.
At the time the White House blamed the cancelled visit on poor weather.
In another conversation during the trip, Mr Trump referred to the 1,800 marines who died in the First World War battle of Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed, according to The Atlantic.
Again, Mr Trump fiercely denied the claims, calling them “disgraceful” and branding the publication a “terrible magazine”.
Donald Trump's visit to Iraq
Speaking to reporters after returning from a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Mr Trump said: “I would be willing to swear on anything that I never said that about our fallen heroes.
“There is nobody that respects them more. No animal — nobody — what animal would say such a thing?”
He also reiterated the White House explanation of why he did not visit the cemetery.
“The helicopter could not fly,” he said, because of the rain and fog.
“The Secret Service told me you can’t do it. They would never have been able to get the police and everybody else in line to have a president go through a very crowded, very congested area,” he insisted.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said: “It’s sad the depths that people will go to during a lead-up to a presidential campaign to try to smear somebody.”
“Duty, honour, country — those are the values that drive our service members.
"I will ensure that our American heroes know that I will have their back and honour their sacrifice — always.”
The defence officials also described a 2017 visit by Mr Trump and chief of staff John Kelly to Arlington Cemetery in Virginia.
As the pair visited the grave of Mr Kelly’s son Robert, who was killed in 2010 in Afghanistan, Mr Trump reportedly turned to his colleague and said: “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”
The senior Marine Corps officer and The Atlantic, citing sources with first-hand knowledge, also reported that Mr Trump said he did not want to support the August 2018 funeral of Republican senator John McCain, a decorated navy veteran who spent years as a Vietnam prisoner of war, because he was a “loser”.
The Atlantic reported that the president was angered that flags were flown at half-mast for Mr McCain, saying: “What the f*** are we doing that for? Guy was a f****** loser.”
On Thursday, Mr Trump acknowledged that he was “never a fan” of Mr McCain and disagreed with him on a number of issues.
However, he insisted he still respected him and approved everything to do with his “first-class triple-A funeral” without hesitation because “I felt he deserved it.”
In 2015, shortly after launching his presidential candidacy, Mr Trump publicly criticised Mr McCain, saying: “He’s not a war hero,” adding: “I like people who weren’t captured.”
The magazine said Mr Trump also referred to former president George HW Bush as a “loser” because he was shot down by the Japanese as a Navy pilot in the Second World War.