(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The sister of slain soldier Vanessa Guillén slammed The Atlantic after it used anonymous sources to allege that President Donald Trump disparaged her after discovering the funeral expenses.
Guillén’s death at the hands of a fellow soldier and his girlfriend became national news in 2020, with Trump comforting the grief-stricken family and extending death benefits. He also offered to cover the costs personally if the Army did not pay for the funeral expenses.
The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, however, attempted to rewrite history on Tuesday, claiming that Trump was outraged when he learned that Guillén’s funeral, which included heightened security and closed streets, cost $60,000.
According to the magazine—relying on an anonymous source—Trump allegedly said, “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican!” and ordered then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to deny payment.
Guillén’s sister, Mayra, issued a viral statement on X, condemning The Atlantic’s distorted portrayal of her experience with Trump.
“I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics- hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members,” Mayra wrote on X, garnering over 3 million views.
“President Donald Trump did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today,” Mayra added.
Wow.
I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics- hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members. President Donald Trump did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today. https://t.co/o8cDrKOKBV— Mayra Guillen (@mguilen_) October 22, 2024
FOREVER 20
Happy heavenly birthday sister. You’d be 25 years old today. Time has passed by so unexpectedly, it feels like it was just yesterday that we were having breakfast….you now have a legacy that we have to fulfill in your honor. I love you & miss you very much sister. ❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/sbVgIWvQXh— Mayra Guillen (@mguilen_) September 30, 2024
In another post, Mayra emphasized that her sister’s death should never be politicized. “Unbelievable,” she continued.
The denials did not stop there as Meadows took to X, refuting the allegations.
“Any suggestion that President Trump disparaged Ms. Guillen or refused to pay for her funeral expenses is absolutely false,” Meadows wrote. “He was nothing but kind, gracious, and wanted to make sure that the military and the U.S. government did right by Vanessa Guillen and her family.”
I was in the discussions featured in the Atlantic’s latest hit piece against President Trump. Let me say this.
Any suggestion that President Trump disparaged Ms. Guillen or refused to pay for her funeral expenses is absolutely false.
He was nothing but kind, gracious, and…
— Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) October 22, 2024
Meadows’s spokesperson, Ben Williamson, explicitly denied that Trump ever made the remarks in comments provided before publication. The Atlantic omitted these comments, claiming that Williamson denied ever hearing such remarks.
On the left: I sent Atlantic a comment saying President Trump “absolutely did not say that,” referring to the alleged comments about Ms. Guillen they printed.
On the right: Atlantic translated that comment to “didn’t hear Trump say it.”
Treat this dishonest piece accordingly. pic.twitter.com/pM1o1c9fEm
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) October 22, 2024
This marked the second instance of The Atlantic publishing demonstrably false claims against Trump. The magazine previously claimed that Trump refused to visit a veteran cemetery because he allegedly called fallen soldiers “suckers” and “losers.”
It was later revealed that the cemetery trip was canceled due to poor weather, which required Trump to travel by helicopter.
