President Donald Trump was missing from the dignified transfer of the seventh U.S. service member killed during the war with Iran, after facing fierce criticism for wearing a casual baseball-style cap to the first ceremonial event.
Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, a 26-year-old from Glendale, Kentucky, died Sunday after sustaining injuries during a March 1 attack on U.S. troops at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
His dignified transfer was held Monday night at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware. It was attended by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, as well as top military officials.
Missing from the event was the president, who drew intense criticism after he wore his own branded campaign merchandise, a white baseball cap that read “USA,” to the dignified transfer of the remains of the first six U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict.
Trump’s public schedule revealed he spent most of Monday in Florida with members of Congress at the House Republicans’ annual policy retreat, which was held at his golf club in Doral. The schedule shows he was traveling back to Washington, D.C., at the time of the transfer.
In a statement toThe Independent, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said: “President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Secretary Hegseth have all welcomed our fallen heroes home who made the ultimate sacrifice in support of the noble Operation Epic Fury. “
“The President, Vice President, and Secretary grieved with their incredible families, shared their love, and expressed their deep gratitude of our entire nation. These men and women gave up their lives in defense of our freedom, and President Trump will never forget their honorable service and selfless devotion. They represent the very best of America,” Wales said.
Vance’s attendance at the event was promoted by the White House on its @RapidResponse47 X account.
“May God grant eternal rest to this American hero, be with his family, and forever bless the United States of America,” the post read.
Pennington was the seventh U.S. service member killed by retaliatory strikes by Iran after the U.S. and Israel began joint attacks on the country on February 28.
The 26-year-old enlisted in the Army straight after high school in 2017 and was assigned to the 1st Space Brigade, a unit within the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command, at Fort Carson in Colorado.
“He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved. That makes him nothing less than a hero, and he will always be remembered that way,” said Gen. Sean A. Gainey, United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command commanding general.
Pennington will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant.
The president came under fire over the weekend after attending the dignified transfer of six US soldiers killed in the Middle East while wearing a white, Trump-branded baseball hat. Internet users slammed Trump for “disrespecting” the slain soldiers, who were members of the Army Reserve killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait just one day after the war began.
“Trump wouldn’t take his hat off during the dignified transfer of the six service members we lost in Kuwait. But tell me more about how much he ‘loves our troops,’” one enraged X user wrote.
MS Now contributor and former chair of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele also came for Trump’s hat, writing on X: “This fool has ABSOLUTELY no sense of dignity or appreciation for the moment. It is called the Dignified Transfer for a reason. Take your damn hat off!!”
Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger added fuel to the fire on X, writing: “An embarrassing stain on our nation.”
Trump’s self-branded hat during the solemn event drew even more backlash after Fox News aired old footage of the president attending a different ceremony for fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base, where Trump did not wear a hat.
The network later issued an apology for the blunder, saying they “inadvertently aired video from an older dignified transfer” instead of the ceremony that took place over the weekend.
While the network continued to highlight Trump’s attendance at the ceremony on Sunday, X users noted that the new footage the network was airing had been edited to exclude Trump from the picture altogether.
Internet users were quick to pile on Fox, accusing the network of intentionally airing the old footage to hide Trump’s apparel choice.
In a statement, a Fox spokesperson told The Independent: “FOX News Media programs inadvertently aired file footage from a previous dignified transfer while discussing yesterday’s ceremony at Dover Air Force Base. The archival footage was mistakenly used during the video sourcing process. We regret the error and apologize for the incorrect footage.”
