Mayra Guillén, the sister of Army soldier Vanessa Guillén, who was murdered in 2020, expressed support for former President Donald Trump and dismissed claims from The Atlantic alleging that Trump failed to pay her sister’s funeral expenses despite reportedly promising to do so.
In a post on social media platform X, Guillén criticized the politicization of her sister’s death, saying, “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.”
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Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old Army private, was tragically murdered by another soldier in 2020 at Fort Hood, Texas. Her remains were found two months later, and her death sparked nationwide outrage, leading to significant changes in how the military handles sexual harassment and assault.
The Atlantic‘s Editor-in-Chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, published a story alleging that Trump promised to pay for Vanessa’s funeral but became angry when he learned it would cost $60,000, reportedly saying, “It doesn’t cost $60,000 to bury a f‑‑‑‑‑‑ Mexican!” According to the article, Trump later instructed his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, not to cover the cost.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows claimed publicly that The Atlantic’s unsourced article was fake news.
“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 and gracious and wanted to make sure that the military and the U.S. government did right by Vanessa Guillen and her family,” blasted on X.
The Guillén family’s attorney, Natalie Khawam, stated in the article that she had sent the funeral bill to the White House but received no payment from Trump. However, Khawam later posted on X, accusing Goldberg of misrepresenting their conversation, saying he “outright LIED in HIS sensational story” and had exploited her clients and Vanessa Guillén’s murder for “cheap political gain.”
The Trump campaign echoed this sentiment, calling The Atlantic‘s report “absolutely false.” Trump adviser Alex Pfeiffer stated, “President Donald Trump has spent his life caring for America’s military heroes. There has been no greater advocate for our brave military men and women than Donald J. Trump.”
The controversy continues as both sides dispute the facts of the story, but Mayra Guillén remains firm in her support for Trump, emphasizing the respect he showed her family.
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