A political firestorm has erupted following a bombshell report from the Atlantic claiming that former President Donald Trump insulted the family of a murdered U.S. Army soldier and refused to pay for her funeral as he had previously promised. The allegations, which Trump and his allies vehemently deny, have reignited long-simmering debates about the ex-president’s treatment of military members and their families.
Alleged Disparaging Remarks and Broken Promises
According to the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, Trump became irate in December 2020 when he received a $60,000 bill for the funeral expenses of Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old Army private who had been brutally murdered at the Fort Hood military base in Texas earlier that year. Sources claim that Trump, who had met with Guillén’s family and offered to cover the costs, balked at the amount and allegedly said, “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican,” before instructing his then-chief of staff Mark Meadows not to pay.
The report further alleges that despite Trump’s public show of support for the Guillén family, they never received any funds from the former president to help cover the funeral expenses. The shocking claims have sparked outrage among many, with critics accusing Trump of disrespecting not only Guillén’s memory but also the sacrifices made by countless military members and their families.
Guillén Family and Trump Allies Push Back
In a surprising twist, Vanessa Guillén’s sister Mayra has come to Trump’s defense, criticizing the Atlantic story on social media. “I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics – hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members,” she wrote, referring to a federal law named after Vanessa that aims to combat sexual harassment and assault in the military. Mayra added that Trump “did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa.”
The Guillén family’s attorney, Natalie Khawam, also blasted the report, accusing Goldberg of misrepresenting their conversation and lying “for cheap political gain.” She insisted that Trump supported the military and the “I Am Vanessa Guillen” bill. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows similarly denied the allegations, stating that Trump was “nothing but kind, gracious, and wanted to make sure that the military and the U.S. government did right by Vanessa Guillen and her family”.
Reactions Across the Political Spectrum
The controversy has elicited strong reactions from both sides of the aisle. Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, a 24-year Army National Guard veteran, expressed disgust at the alleged comments, warning Americans not to normalize such behavior. Texas congressman Joaquin Castro, meanwhile, tweeted that “Trump has nothing but contempt for Latinos, women, and our servicemembers.”
The Atlantic report also claimed that Trump once privately expressed a desire for “the kind of generals that Hitler had,” an accusation that the former president’s spokesperson has flatly denied as “absolutely false.” As the controversy continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the allegations will impact Trump’s political future and his standing among military members and their families.
Vanessa Guillén’s Tragic Story
The furor over Trump’s alleged remarks has once again brought attention to the heartbreaking case of Vanessa Guillén, who disappeared from Fort Hood in April 2020 after confiding in friends and family about being sexually harassed on the base. Her dismembered and burned remains were discovered two months later, with prosecutors alleging that she had been killed by fellow soldier Aaron Robinson, who later took his own life when confronted by police.
Guillén’s murder sparked a national reckoning over the military’s handling of sexual harassment and assault cases, ultimately leading to the passage of the “I Am Vanessa Guillen Act” in 2021. The law, signed by President Biden, requires sexual harassment complaints involving service members to be investigated by an independent party rather than within the chain of command.
As the nation continues to grapple with the scourge of military sexual trauma and the ongoing controversies surrounding Donald Trump, Vanessa Guillén’s legacy serves as a poignant reminder of the urgent need for change and accountability at all levels of leadership. The coming days and weeks will undoubtedly see further developments in this explosive story, with the truth of what transpired between Trump and the Guillén family likely to remain a matter of intense debate and scrutiny.
