Vets and Spouses Outraged Over Trump Blowing Off Dignified Transfer of Slain Soldiers for Golf Event

(AP Photo/The Idaho Press-Tribune, Adam Eschbach)

President Donald Trump is opting to attend a golf event at his Doral Golf Course instead of attending a dignified transfer of slain soldiers at Dover AFB.

Mediaite spoke to several military veterans and spouses, each of whom expressed outrage that the commander in chief appears to have prioritized the promotion of a professional golf event by Saudi-backed LIV Golf over honoring four soldiers killed in service in Lithuania.

Trump has decided to send Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer of four American soldiers killed in a training exercise in Lithuania, per reporting by Fox News Pentagon reporter Jennifer Griffin.

Lithuania paid homage to the fallen soldiers with a moving memorial on April 3rd. Images of the memorial service were shared in a social media post by the US Embassy in Lithuania, which Griffin shared while reporting that Trump would be skipping the service.

Mediaite spoke to Joe Stutler, a US Army veteran who joined the military in 1982, served two tours in Desert Storm, and left in 1992, followed by an eight-year stint in the National Guard.

“This stuff matters to me,” he told me. “I can’t begin to express my disgust with what this admin is doing to the troops and the veterans. Cut sto the VA have once again this is the guy who calls us losers and suckers. Coming home from dying in service and ‘I’m going to hang out with the Saudis because of golf?’  I’m disgusted at a minimum.”

“You don’t have to have worn the boots to be the commander in chief,” he continued. “It’s not mandatory nor should it be, and that’s how it should be — the defense department needs civilian leadership. But virtually every other President we’ve had has had the honor and integrity to recognize those who have paid the ultimate price, who have made the ultimate sacrifice, which they made for their fellow human being. And they did it for people they never met. And we owe these people a huge amount gratitude and respect. Trump has never shown gratitude and respect for those who gave – absolutely just wrong on this issue.”

“I have never been so embarrassed to be an American than I have these last few months, and now, Donald Trump is completely disrespecting four of my brothers in arms to play golf,” Blythe Potter told me. She served in the Military Police Corps and was deployed to Iraq from 2005 to 2006.

“Given what Trump has done to geopolitical relationships, Poland and Lithuania have NO reason to concern themselves with doing us any favors by bringing our fallen soldiers home for us, but they have cared more for Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., Staff Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins than Donald Trump has or will,” she added. “It is my opinion that the Commander in Chief doesn’t care about our troops dead or alive.”

“Unfortunately, many of our friends did not make it home from war,” Rebekah Sanderlin told me. She lives in Virginia Beach and is the wife of an Army veteran who served 26 years before retiring. “We were married for 17 of those years, all 17 spent during wartime.”

“I am very sad for our president, who was offered that honor and opportunity but chose not to accept it. I’m sure it would have meant a lot to those families to have our military’s Commander in Chief with them to greet our fallen heroes at Dover,” she added. “I hope he will reach out to those families in the coming days, and I hope they realize how grateful our nation is for their loved ones’ sacrifice and that we are all grieving with them now.”

“During my husband’s active duty years, I volunteered to lead Care Teams — volunteers who step in to help the families of the fallen in the days after they receive notification that their soldier was killed in action. That was, without a doubt, the greatest and most humbling honor of my life,” she continued. “Being allowed to sit with and help families who lost a loved one in service to our nation was a sacred experience for me. It was absolutely an honor, but it was the very least I could do for them after they sacrificed so much.”

“I’m appalled but not surprised by President Trump’s recent decision to skip the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover AFB of the four soldiers that tragically died in a training accident in Lithuania to attend the reception dinner for the Saudi owned LIV golf league event at his Florida golf club,” said Scott Peoples of Raleigh, NC. He is an army veteran and former Officer in the 82nd Airborne Division, and now works for the organization Veterans for Responsible Leadership.

“It is just another data point that proves President Trump doesn’t give a damn about America’s military service members or veterans,” he continued. “He can’t comprehend the concept of serving a cause greater than oneself. Nothing matters to him other than money, power, and ego, and that is why he looks down with contempt on those who would die in service to their country. He truly does see us as suckers and losers and for this he does not deserve the title of Commander in Chief. Our brave troops and their families deserve so much better than him.”

When reached for comment, the White House gave Mediaite the following statement from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: “The Secretary of Defense will represent the Administration at the dignified transfer for the four brave U.S. service members who tragically died during a training exercise in Lithuania.”