Disparaging our men and women who don military uniforms and fight for our freedom is wholly un-American. It ranks right up there with not standing for the National Anthem or burning the American flag. It’s a slap in the face to all the things that make this country so beautiful and wonderful.

The Atlantic recently came out with an article that claims President Donald Trump, the current commander-in-chief for all branches of our military, called soldiers and sailors “losers” and “suckers” behind closed doors. Losers and suckers—to use those terms to describe the millions of people who fight for freedom today, fought for freedom years ago and especially those who sacrificed their lives so we can enjoy our liberties is reprehensible.

Normally, I am loathed to trust a story that uses anonymous sources. As a journalist, I find anything that uses information from someone hiding his or her identity in the shadows to be highly suspect. However, when you look at Trump’s history, incidents we’ve seen to be true, it’s hard to believe that the president has changed his spots.

When Trump ran for the presidency the first time, he belittled the service of the late Sen. John McCain, who was very much alive when the remarks were made in 2015. Trump said: “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

When he made that statement five years ago, it made me wonder what he did that was any better. However, Donald Trump has never served in the military. He got out of the draft for the Vietnam War by claiming he had bone spurs. He never got the chance to be a war hero, but yet he condemned the service of one who did jump through the hoops to put on a uniform and vow to defend our country from evil.

That alone should have pushed Trump out of contention for the highest office of the United States, but he managed to find a shovel and dig himself deeper in 2016 when he spoke out against the parents of Capt. Humayun S.M. Khan, who died in Iraq in 2004. Trump’s attack on Khzir and Ghazala Khan prompted 11 Gold Star families to write a letter denouncing the attack and saying his remarks cheapened the sacrifice of their loved ones.

Despite the bile that Trump expressed for those who served and still serve, he made it into the White House. This year, he vowed to use the military to clear out protesters and rioters in our own country like our fighting forces are his own personal police force. It’s not a stretch to believe the Atlantic story, even though there was no one who came forward with a name.

If there is truth to the story, I would hope at least one of those anonymous sources would come forward, state his or her name and reiterate whether the president did indeed call our veterans and current military members, which include my father, grandfather, at least one uncle and a cousin, losers and suckers. Present us proof—an audio tape, a video tape, something that firmly puts the nail in the coffin.

The president has plenty of his allies to claim those words never came out of Trump’s mouth, so we need those in the shadows to come out and stand tall. Trump is also claiming there is no truth to the story and vowing that he’ll swear on anything that he did not refer to our brave men and women, along with their families, as anything less than heroes.

Okay, let’s take him up on that. Let’s go get that Bible he held up for a photo-op a while back, tell him to put his hand on it via some live press conference and let him try to profess his love for the military. After what’s been said before, will this country truly believe him?

If Trump had served in the military, we would all be descending on the offices of the Atlantic with pitchforks and torches because we know that the people who fight for our freedom are not losers for making sacrifices to keep us free. They are not suckers for believing in America’s ideals, and anyone who says that they are should not be allowed to be their commander-in-chief. They deserve our respect.

The Atlantic story could possibly be false, and it’s use of anonymous sources puts the credibility of the story in a precarious position, even though The Associated Press, a credible organization, claims to have confirmed the comments independently. However, you only need to hear the words of the president himself to see that he believes our men and women in uniform are losers and suckers, even if he never dared to utter the words.

No one who fights for freedom is a loser. No one who defends America is a sucker.