Trump,Sends Jaw-Dropping Message to Families of Fallen U.S. Fighters
President Donald Trump had a hard time showing much sympathy for the families of about 100 Americans—many of them U.S. military veterans—who died while fighting in Ukraine.
It's estimated that several thousand Americans have volunteered to help Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion started in 2022.
At least 92 Americans have been killed by September, according to The New York Times.
Why Trump's use of words like “suckers” and “losers” really bugs people
TOUCHY MUCH?
Michael Daly, Jake Lahut
Donald Trump speaks
After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday to talk about a peace deal to end the war, Trump was asked about his message to the families of those who died.
“The message is so obvious,” he said.
“What a shame. They died in a foreign country. Some of them are real heroes. But it's so sad that something like that would happen.”
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 28: U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump invited Zelensky to his private club to work on a U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine as the conflict approaches four years since the sudden full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
President Trump offered very little comfort to the families of Americans who died fighting for Ukraine.
Social media users noticed that the president didn’t thank the fallen for their bravery, praise their efforts for freedom and democracy, or even offer personal condolences.
Many of the Americans who died in Ukraine were U.S. military veterans.
Mike Meoli, 71, was a retired Navy Seal and firefighter who traveled to Ukraine to train medics on the front lines.
He was killed in November 2024, according to ABC 10 News San Diego.
Nicholas Maimer, 45, was an Army Special Forces veteran from Idaho who helped train Ukrainian officers.
He was killed in May 2023 during an artillery attack, reported by Military.com.
Ian Frank Tortorici, 32, was a retired Marine who fought on the front lines.
He died in July 2023 after a Russian missile hit a restaurant where he was eating on leave, according to Task and Purpose.
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 28: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump invited Zelensky to his private club to work on a U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine as the conflict approaches four years since the sudden full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Both sides said that progress was made during Sunday's talks, but neither suggested a peace deal was close.
Some social media users said that Trump's little sympathy for the families wasn't diplomatic—it was like his past comments about Americans who died in combat being “suckers” and “losers.”
In 2018, during a visit to France, Trump called American soldiers who died on French soil during World War I “losers,” and said U.S. Marines who stopped the 1918 German advance toward Paris were “suckers” for dying at the hands of the enemy.
The White House denied the reports, which were revealed by The Atlantic magazine in 2020, but they show the president has made fun of military veterans and their families.
He has mocked the late Sen. John McCain’s war injuries, made fun of the parents of a soldier who died in a car bombing in Iraq, and was very angry about funeral costs for a female soldier who was murdered by a male soldier at Fort Hood.
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - AUGUST 15: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as he arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska.
The two leaders are meeting for peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Trump said Sunday he was for peace, but praised the man who started the war—Russia's Vladimir Putin.
“Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Trump said, causing Zelensky to look surprised.
“I was telling the president that President Putin has a lot of feelings for Ukraine's success.”
He also said he “understands” Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire while a longer-term agreement is being worked out.
“He feels that you know, they’re fighting and if they stop, and if they have to start again, which is a possibility, he doesn’t want to be in that situation—I understand that position,” Trump said.
Putin launched over 100 drones at Ukraine on Christmas Eve and early Christmas Day, killing at least seven civilians.
THE COMMON GOOD MANIFESTO
A society built for people, not predators.
We are at our best when we invest in each other.
We are at our worst when we abandon the vulnerable.
This manifesto is how we return to the common good.
I. DIGNITY AND JUSTICE
1. Release the Epstein files — full transparency, no exceptions.
2. Impeach, convict, and imprison Donald Trump and every handler who enabled his corruption.
3. No federal office for any convicted felon.
4. End the weaponization of the justice system against the poor, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and marginalized communities.
II. DEMOCRACY THAT ACTUALLY WORKS
1. Abolish the Electoral College — one person, one vote.
2. Abolish ICE — replace it with humane immigration policy that honors human rights.
3. Ban gerrymandering with a standardized national apportionment method.
4. Two-term limits for every elected office.
5. Mandatory retirement at 70 for all elected officials.
6. Paper ballots only — end the era of hackable voting machines.
III. AN ECONOMY THAT SERVES PEOPLE
1. Restore 1950s-style progressive tax rates — when America was prosperous and fair.
2. Overturn Citizens United — corporations are not people.
3. Eliminate the Social Security payroll cap and tax capital gains for Social Security contributions.
4. $25 minimum wage indexed to inflation.
5. Medicare for All, one unified system — no A/B/C/D maze.
6. Congress receives Medicare, not boutique private insurance.
IV. WORKERS, CREATIVES, AND PUBLIC SERVANTS
1. Big pay raises for social workers, teachers, librarians, artists, and cultural workers — the people who actually hold society together.
2. Universal childcare — because families are the foundation of the nation.
3. Free public university education.
4. Full forgiveness of all student debt.
V. CLEAN GOVERNMENT
1. Root out corruption at every level, starting at the top.
2. Full financial transparency for every elected official, appointee, and senior bureaucrat.
3. Ban lobbying for former officeholders for life.
VI. THE FUTURE WE CHOOSE
We choose a country that values:
• Compassion over cruelty
• Community over greed
• Truth over propaganda
• Shared prosperity over billionaire hoarding
• Democracy over minority rule
• Human dignity over corporate profit
We choose a nation where the common good is not a slogan, but the organizing principle of public life.
And we refuse to apologize for demanding better.
I can’t truthfully say that I like what I’m reading, but I certainly appreciate that you publish it! DJT is such an embarrassment and brings shame to our great nation. He does not value or honor our brave soldiers; he has no sense of duty or of love of country. I cannot wait for a change of administration