The hits kept coming for Donald Trump through the weekend after he sent out a fundraising email featuring a photo of himself at the dignified transfer of the first six U.S. soldiers killed in the war with Iran. Among those joining the list to criticize the President was Pete Buttigieg, who had sharp words about the move during a spot with CNN.
“Just this week, we saw campaign fundraising materials being put out,” Buttigieg told Jake Tapper. “Emails where the President’s committee, the President’s political operation, was raising money off of images of him at a dignified transfer. Any politician who does that has no business leading American troops into war.
“If the President is willing to raise campaign funds over the bodies of America’s war dead, he is unfit to be the Commander in Chief.”
The photo Trump used also shows him wearing the white USA hat that he failed to take off at the ceremony. Some felt that was not a very dignified move by Trump, and he was accused by others of trying to do some marketing because he sells that white USA hat on the Trump Organization website for $55.
The controversy kicked up a notch on Thursday when California Gov. Gavin Newsom shared a post on X that claimed Trump is sending out fundraising emails offering “national security briefings.”
“Donald Trump is fundraising off dead soldiers,” Newsom wrote on X. “He is a deeply SICK and DISGUSTING MAN!”
Newsom doubled down on his thoughts on Saturday, sharing a Newsweek headline about Trump’s fundraising effort and writing, “Donald Trump is mentally and morally sick.”
Newsom and Trump exchanging barbs is nothing new. Trump called Newsom a racist last week, too. But Newsom was not the only person on social media who thought Trump’s fundraising email was crossing the line.
“And STILL … nothing will be done,” Sportscasting Nightmares wrote on X while sharing Newsom’s post. “Absolutely nothing. We are lost. We are lost.”
“Congress, remove this traitor,” Susanna Lopez wrote.
“Let’s face it!” James R Us wrote on X. “They don’t come any sicker than Donald Trump!”
“Is national security just a merch store now?” Noah Watson replied. “Who authorized these ‘private briefings?’”
There were plenty more comments like that on Elon Musk’s social media platform.
Trump drew criticism for wearing the hat during last Saturday’s dignified transfer.
Then the President went golfing the next day in the same style of white USA hat while the United States announced the death of a seventh serviceman in the war with Iran.
He was blistered on social media for it. Newsom offered his take from the “Governor Newsom Press Office” account on X after sharing Rapid Response 47’s video of the service.
“Take your hat off, you disgusting little man,” he wrote.
“This fool has ABSOLUTELY no sense of dignity of appreciation for the moment,” former RNC chairman Michael Steele wrote on X while sharing a photo of Trump with his hat on. “It is called the Dignified Transfer for a reason. Take your (expletive) hat off.”
“Trump just wore a campaign hat to a dignified transfer for fallen U.S. soldiers that were killed during his Iranian blunder,’ Chris D. Jackson wrote on X. “These are the same people who spent week attacking Biden for briefly glancing at his watch. The hypocrisy is absolute. There is no bottom for these people.”
“Disgraceful that Trump is wearing a white baseball hat at the dignified transfer,” Blue Georgia wrote on X.
“The president of the United States has a baseball cap on during a dignified transfer of six American service members who were killed in war with Iran,” another wrote on X. “He couldn’t even be bothered to take his (expletive) hat off. Donald Trump is a deplorable, callous piece of (expletive).”
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Brian Linder ; pennlive.com ; (TNS) ; ©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit pennlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
