“This man has absolutely no soul, empathy, or understanding of human emotions,” wrote Fred Wellman, a U.S. Army combat veteran, adding that “you don’t ‘celebrate’ the anniversary” of your child’s death.
Trump’s comments arrived during a speech to the Economic Club of New York where he reflected on his recent visit to the cemetery which marked the 3rd anniversary of the deadly 2021 Kabul airport attack.
“By the way, we lost 13 incredible soldiers. I got to know the families very well, spent a lot of time with them four days ago in Arlington cemetery,” Trump said.
“Three years ago, they were celebrating three years honoring their children.”
The vast majority of the service members killed in the attack were Marines, not “soldiers” as Trump described them.
VoteVets, a progressive political committee which recently criticized the former presidents over his Arlington visit, similarly declared that “no one celebrates the date” when their loved one was killed and added that a former commander-in-chief “ought to know” Marines aren’t soldiers.
