U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One to travel to Palm Beach International Airport, at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, U.S., April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
President Donald Trump created an uproar Thursday evening after reports emerged that he would skip the dignified transfer of the four U.S. soldiers who died in Lithuania for a golf event.
NBC News reported that Trump would not be present when the fallen soldiers arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after they were killed when their vehicle sank during a training exercise last month. Instead, he’ll be several hundred miles away at his Doral golf course in Miami, taking part in a LIV Golf dinner reception.
The president attending a golf tournament over the dignified transfer of the U.S. military members shocked – and angered — critics.
“Thousands of Lithuanians lined the streets with dignity and respect to honor the four lost American soldiers,” Matt McDermott posted on X. “Trump prioritized golf over their dignified transfer.”
He later added above a link to the NBC News report: “No words.”
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“A man’s gotta have a code,” former prosecutor Ron Filipkowski wrote on Bluesky. “Trump’s code is that the Saudis are paying him millions to host the golf tournament, so that’s where he is.”
“He couldn’t even find an hour out of his day to honor fallen soldiers in Lithuania,” Bluesky user @forensicguy, a retired Naval officer, posted Thursday. “That is the 'person' that MAGA, including some deluded veterans, honors. I’m a 40-year veteran. Trump is dishonorable.”
“Trump is attending his Saudi-backed LIV Golf dinner instead of honoring our fallen soldiers,” the progressive group MeidasTouch wrote on X. “Lithuania, on the other hand, is showing them the respect they deserve."
Republicans against Trump summed up the situation on X with a single word: “Disgraceful."