Lithuanian President President Gitanas Nausėda, government dignitaries, religious leaders, military personnel, and thousands of spectators gathered on Thursday to send the remains of four American soldiers killed during a training exercise back to the U.S. for burial. They are arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Friday, and while their bodies will be received by several senators and members of the military, the commander in chief couldn’t be bothered to make the trip. He had a gold tournament to attend.
Instead of receiving the remains of the soldiers under his command, President Donald Trump will be attending a Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament at his Doral resort and golf course in Florida. According to Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, the president has chosen to send Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in his stead. According to Punchbowl News, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) as well as Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Chris Coons (D-De.) are expected to attend.
Staff Sergeant Jose Duenez Jr., 25; Staff Sergeant Edvin Franco, 25; Private First Class Dante Taitano, 21; and Staff Sergeant Troy Knutson-Collins, 28 — all members of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division — died last month after their vehicle seemingly sank in a swamp during efforts to recover another vehicle that had broken down during a training exercise. When Trump was first asked about the disappearance of the soldiers during an Oval Office gaggle with reporters, he claimed to have not been briefed on the matter. The Army announced the search for the missing servicemembers hours before the televised press conference.
In an emotional farewell ceremony, Lithuanian President Nausėda told spectators that the honorable treatment of the fallen “is more than a duty, it is an emotion. We have experienced trials in our history and therefore we understand well what loss is, what death is, what honourable duty is.” According to reports from Lithuanian National Radio and Television, the nation is considering bestowing posthumous state honours upon the deceased soldiers.
As much as Republicans claim to hold nothing more sacred than honor and respect for the American military — particularly the dead and their families — they have remained virtually silent about Trump’s choice to skip the dignified transfer of remains. One can’t help but recall months of GOP outrage over former President Barack Obama saluting two Marines while holding a cup of coffee, or the hysteria over former President Joe Biden glancing at his watch during a ceremony to welcome the remains of soldiers who died during the Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.
But it’s not just dead soldiers that the president is ignoring as he pals around with LIV’s wealthy investors. International markets are taking a dive over fears of the economic consequences of the sweeping tariffs he announced earlier this week. Saudi Arabia, with which the Trump family has several business deals, coincidentally managed to escape the tariff bloodbath with only the minimum 10-percent penalty.
