Trump raged over soldier's funeral and sought out Hitler's generals: report

Donald Trump has a long history of disrespecting deceased military personnel and immigrants. Nowhere did his contempt for the two groups coalesce more intensely than after the murder of U.S. Army soldier Vanessa Guillén, whom the former president, according to one bombshell report, called a “damned Mexican” when informed of the cost of her funeral The Atlantic on Tuesday.

Guillén was 20 years old when she was murdered by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2020. The high-profile case sparked a series of investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and mistreatment of female soldiers at the military base. Guillén was the daughter of Mexican immigrants, but was born in Houston and was therefore an American citizen. Her parents were invited to the White House for a televised meeting with Trump, who promised he would help “financially” with the funeral. Given the widespread attention surrounding her murder, a public memorial service was held for Guillén, followed by a smaller funeral attended by members of the Houston city government.

But while Trump appeared magnanimous in public, a different story was playing out behind the scenes. According to contemporary notes and interviews by The Atlantic, On December 4, 2020, Trump asked his staff if he had been charged for the funeral. “How much did it cost?” he asked.

When told the total cost was $60,000, Trump was outraged. “It doesn't cost $60,000 to bury a damn Mexican!” He reportedly told his then-chief of staff, Mark Meadows. “Don’t pay it!”

Later in the day, Trump reportedly complained that these “damn people” were “trying to rip me off.”

A spokesman for the former president denied the exchange and called the story an “outrageous lie.” The Atlantic two weeks before the election.” A lawyer for Guillén’s family said it The Atlantic that although an invoice was sent to the White House, no refund was ever made. Instead, parts of the funeral costs were covered by donations and the army.

It's by no means the first time the former president has disparaged a military member in a moment of anger, but even more shocking is Trump's apparent belief that the armed forces owe him blind, unconditional loyalty.

Most recently, Trump said the military should be used against American citizens who oppose him, whom he described as “the enemy within.” In 2022, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly wrote in his memoirs that Trump openly dreamed of having generals as loyal to him as “the German generals in World War II.”

When Kelly tried to remind Trump that the Nazi dictator's top officials “tried to kill Hitler three times and almost succeeded,” Trump replied, “No, no, no, they were completely loyal to him.” .”

Kelly elaborated on the exchanger The Atlantic On Tuesday, he added that he asked Trump whether he meant Otto von Bismarck's generals or the Franco-Prussian War.

“I said, ‘Do you mean the emperor’s generals? You don't mean Hitler's generals?' And he said, 'Yes, yes, Hitler's generals.' I explained to him that Rommel had to commit suicide after he was involved in a conspiracy against Hitler,” Kelly recalls.

Trump was apparently unfamiliar with Erwin Rommel and the failed 1944 assassination attempt on the genocidal dictator, which Trump apparently envied.

“I need the kind of generals Hitler had,” Trump said, according to the recollections of two people he spoke to The Atlantic. “People who were completely loyal to him, following orders.”