Trump admin sends Hegseth to ceremony for remains of US soldiers while president attends fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago

Donald Trump did not attend a Friday ceremony in Delaware where U.S. officials accepted the remains of four soldiers who died during a training accident in Lithuania last month.

Instead, the president has been in Florida since yesterday, where he celebrated the beginning of a three-day tournament of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series at one of his golf courses, then was set for a Friday fundraising dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

“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,” the White House told The Hill.

The Trump campaign and conservative media previously criticized Joe Biden for looking at his watch during a dignified transfer ceremony.

A group of Democratic senators reportedly attended the transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, including Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Chris Coons.

Lithuanian leaders, including president Gitanas Nausėda, also conducted a ceremony earlier this week in Vilnius for the sendoff of the remains of the four servicemen who died when their armored vehicle sunk in a peat bog: Troy Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigna; Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Ilinois; Edvin Franco, 25, of Glendale, California; and Dante Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam.

Some veterans criticized the decision for Trump to skip the U.S. ceremony.

“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,” military police corps veteran Blythe Potter, who deployed to Iraq, told Mediate.

Trump attended less dignified transfer ceremonies than was typical during his first term, and reportedly avoided such events for nearly two years after the father of a dead Navy SEAL berated him for a raid gone wrong in Yemen that killed his son.

The last of the remains of the U.S. soldiers was discovered on Tuesday, following an intensive search and recovery effort involving U.S., Lithuanian, and Polish authorities.