Donald Trump has bizarrely boasted about allowing the grieving parents of a fallen soldier killed in Iran to hitch a ride on his presidential plane.
The not-so-humble brag took place at a campaign-style rally in Georgia, hours after the 80-year-old Commander in Chief attended the dignified transfer of the U.S serviceman and three others killed in the Middle East conflict.
“One of the families happened to be traveling to Georgia. Beautiful family, beautiful wife and husband, and brother-in-law,” Trump told supporters.
“And I said, ‘I’m going to Georgia too. Where are you going?’ She says, ‘Well, after this, sir… we’re going to Georgia.’ I said, ‘So, if you want, I’ll give you a ride on Air Force One.’ And they said, ‘Wow!’
“So today, they’re on Air Force One—and it’s quite nice, I must say—and they said, ‘Wow, this is something.”
The family of the fallen soldier, 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, ended up joining Trump at the event.
Feehan was killed alongside 19-year-old Pvt. Isabella Gonzales while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in Jordan.
But while Trump has no shortage of anecdotes to share at his events, Wednesday’s comments, at a rally designed to tout his “Trump Accounts” and economic credentials, seemed somewhat awkward given the solemnness of the rest of the day.
The president did, however, pay tribute to Feehan’s family, who received sustained applause from the crowd.
And he praised Feehan, too, telling the audience that unlike some soldiers, his background seemed “flawless.”
“I read charts on all of the young people, and some are unbelievable. Some are a little bit, you know, they get a couple of little bad things put in,” Trump said.
“This is a son who was like a flawless, perfect person… His sheet read so beautifully.”
Wednesday’s dignified ceremony underscored the growing human cost of a conflict the administration repeatedly insists is under control.
The death of four more service members in the conflict now brings the number of American service members killed in the Iran conflict to 18.
Oil prices have also climbed, commercial shipping has been disrupted, and Iran-backed Houthis have opened a new front by announcing a naval blockade targeting Saudi Arabia.
In a sign of the unpopularity of the war, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth endured a bruising appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, where lawmakers from both parties questioned the administration’s strategy.
Hegseth acknowledged the war has already cost roughly $37.5 billion and warned the Pentagon needs billions more to replenish weapons and sustain operations.
But senators repeatedly pressed him on the lack of a clear endgame, while Democrats slammed the former Fox host for his string of overblown claims.
“On day 14 of this conflict, Mr. Secretary, day 14, nearly five months ago, you stated that Iran’s military had been, ‘destroyed,’ and ‘made combat-ineffective.’ That was on day 14 of the war. Was that an accurate statement?” asked Georgia Senator John Ossoff, leaving the Pentagon chief struggling for a coherent answer.
However, Trump on Wednesday once insisted things were going well.
“We don’t need Straits, we don’t need anything,” he said, referencing the standoff in the world’s most critical oil chokepoint.
“But we have to do it, because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
