California governor Gavin Newsom criticised US President Donald Trump after the latter attended a solemn military ceremony wearing a baseball cap during the dignified transfer of six American soldiers killed during the conflict linked to Iran.
Newsom’s office reacted sharply on social media. Sharing a video of the ceremony on X, his press office wrote: "Take your hat off, you disgusting little man."
Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, also criticised the President. "With all of the horrors he's unleashing on the world, I know this is not the biggest deal, but he is such an unspeakable disgrace," she wrote on X while sharing an image from the ceremony, reported The Mirror US.
Trump attended the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday with First Lady Melania Trump and the families of the deceased soldiers. A dignified transfer is the procedure through which the remains of service members killed in action are returned to US soil.
Such ceremonies are considered one of the most solemn duties of a US president. During his first term, Trump had described attending them as “the toughest thing I have to do”.
However, the president appeared at the ceremony wearing a white baseball cap with “USA” embroidered in gold thread. He kept the cap on while the flag-draped coffins of the soldiers were carried past.
Trump later spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to Florida. “It's a very sad day,” he said, adding that he was "glad we paid our respects." He described the relatives of the soldiers as “great people, great parents, wives, family."
The soldiers killed in action were Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. Coady was posthumously promoted from specialist.
All six belonged to the Army Reserve’s 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa, a unit responsible for logistics support such as food, fuel, water, ammunition and equipment supply.
They were killed in a drone strike at a command centre in Kuwait, one day after the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran.
