SerpApi.Org
U.S. President Donald Trump finds himself under fire from across the aisle for remarks he made ahead of the dignified transfer of fallen U.S. troops whose lives were claimed amid the ongoing Iran war.
Trump was scheduled to attend, alongside other top administration officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the dignified transfer of four fallen U.S. troops, including Army 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Army Staff Sgt. Emmanuel Swinton, Army Sgt. Angel Rampersad and Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Wednesday, July 22.
Before boarding a flight from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the dignified transfer on Wednesday, Trump boldly claimed without evidence that the fallen U.S. soldiers were opposed to Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, the purported aim of the Trump administration's months-long unpopular military operations in the Islamic Republic.
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"All of them said very strongly, 'We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,'" Trump said Wednesday during a press gaggle about the fallen U.S. troops.
Former Republican turned Independent-Libertarian Michigan Rep. Justin Amash was among scores of internet users who condemned the president for his unsubstantiated claim.
"It’s disgusting and shameful for the president of the United States to put his words in the mouths of these departed service members," Amash, the first GOP congressman to call for Trump's position during his first term, a view he still holds.
Amash's remarks were echoed by several dozen other outraged X users.
"They didn't 'strongly say' anything, they're dead. What he's actually doing is using their deaths as a talking point to justify a war built on 'debunked claims' about Iran's nuclear program. That's not honoring their sacrifice, that's exploiting it," one furious X user wrote.
An angry X user added, "It is sick, and disrespectful to their memory, to claim that each and every one of them said that. And it's disrespectful to their families, and to the American people, to try to sell us that bullsh*t."
"A soldier’s sacrifice is not a campaign prop," another upset X user wrote.
Two of the fallen U.S. soldiers honored at the dignified transfer lost their lives during a mission in Jordan earlier in the week.
First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, were both killed in Jordan while providing support for a U.S. mission targeting the Islamic State group. The pair lost their lives Saturday in an undisclosed manner.
U.S. Central Command announced Saturday that both soldiers were killed while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Their deaths bring the total number of those killed in the Middle East to 17.
"On July 17, two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks," CENTCOM stated. "Additionally, one service member is currently missing."
Four additional service members were airlifted to medical facilities for treatment. They have since been released, CENTCOM confirmed.
