Former White House national security adviser John Bolton said in comments published Friday that he never heard President Trump refer to slain American soldiers buried at a French cemetery as "losers" and "suckers," after the allegations were made in a bombshell report published Thursday.

"I didn't hear that," Bolton told The New York Times. "I'm not saying he didn't say them later in the day or another time, but I was there for that discussion."

Bolton's remarks came after Trump himself denied any allegations of disrespectful comments toward American soldiers killed in action, which were first reported by The Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg.

"I would be willing to swear on anything that I never said that about our fallen heroes," Trump said to the press as he was exiting Air Force One early Friday. "There is nobody that respects them more. So, I just think it's a horrible, horrible thing ... no animal, nobody, what animal would say such a thing."

The Atlantic reported that Trump bailed on his appearance at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in 2018 due to concerns that rain would dishevel his hair.

"Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers," Trump also allegedly told aides before canceling his trip to Belleau, France.