Veterans and advocates criticized President Trump for a Memorial Day post on Truth Social that mixed partisan attacks with a brief nod to fallen service members. Critics pointed to Trump's five 1960s draft deferments and cited past controversies involving comments about John McCain, the Khan family, and reporting that he disparaged war dead. The debate coincides with a lawsuit by two octogenarian veterans challenging a proposed 250-foot arch near Arlington that they say would honor the president more than the nation.
Veterans Say Trump 'Dishonored' Memorial Day With Partisan Post; Critics Point To Past Remarks And Controversial Arch Plan
Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images
Veterans and advocates sharply criticized President Donald Trump after a Memorial Day message on Truth Social that mixed partisan attacks with a brief nod to fallen service members. Critics said the post — coming from a president who received five draft deferments in the 1960s — felt like a political screed rather than a solemn tribute.
Trump's Memorial Day message. / Truth Social / Donald Trump
"Happy Memorial Day to all, including the Dumocrats, who disrespect our Military and all of the tremendous success that it has had over the last year. God Bless those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. I love you all! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
Naveed Shah speaks as people protest in Philadelphia last June. / Lisa Lake / Getty Images for No Kings
Naveed Shah, an Army veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a director at advocacy group Common Defense, told the Daily Beast he found the message offensive. "Trump has demonstrated over and over again that he hates the troops," Shah said, and pointed to a series of past incidents he said illustrated a pattern of disrespect toward service members and Gold Star families.
A photo taken in 1967 shows US Navy Air Force Major John McCain being examined by a Vietnamese doctor. / - / AFP via Getty Images
Critics cited several episodes from Trump's public life: his 2016 comment dismissing Sen. John McCain's status as a "war hero" because McCain was captured as a prisoner of war; his attacks on Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star parents of Captain Humayun Khan; reporting that he referred to Americans killed in war as "suckers" and "losers" during a 2018 trip to France (a report Trump denied); and questions about the timing of donations from a veterans fundraiser he held in 2016.
Trump has faced criticism for his proposed arch in D.C. / Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
Supporters and detractors have long disputed the context and intent of some of these incidents. Trump has denied certain reported comments and often described his remarks as taken out of context.
Legal Challenge Over Proposed Arch
The controversy over Memorial Day remarks comes as two elderly veterans have filed a lawsuit challenging a proposed 250-foot triumphal arch that would stand between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. Retired Army Special Forces officer Jon Gundersen, 81, and Navy veteran Shaun Byrnes, 83, contend the project was advanced without proper congressional approval and that the enormous structure would destroy the historic sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and the Robert E. Lee Memorial.
Renderings show the arch towering at more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial; when asked by CBS News who the arch was for, the president famously replied, "Me." Gundersen warned that the plan resembled monuments erected to glorify leaders rather than to honor shared national sacrifice.
This episode underscores ongoing tensions over how national symbols and commemorations are used, and whether political messaging should be kept separate from moments meant to honor military sacrifice.
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