President Donald Trump has struggled to generate much sympathy for the families of the nearly 100 Americans — many of them U.S. military veterans — who have died fighting in Ukraine.
An estimated several thousand Americans have volunteered to fight for Ukraine since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion in 2022, killing at least 92 Americans through September, the New York Times reported.
After a meeting Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss a peace deal to end the war, Trump was asked about his message to the families of fallen Americans.
“The message is very clear,” he replied. “What a shame. They died abroad. And there are some celebrated people, they are very celebrated. But it’s very sad that something like this would happen.”
President Trump has expressed his condolences to the families of American citizens who lost their lives fighting for Ukraine. / Joe Riddle / Getty Images
He then quickly moved on to the next question.
Social media users were quick to note that the president did not thank the fallen for their sacrifice, praise their commitment to freedom and democracy, or even offer his personal condolences.
Many of those who died in Ukraine were American military veterans.
Mike Meoli, 71, was a retired Navy SEAL and firefighter who traveled to Ukraine to train medics on the front lines. He was killed in November 2024, ABC 10 News San Diego reported.
Nicholas Maimer, 45, was an Army Special Forces veteran and Idaho native who helped train Ukrainian officers. According to military.com, he was killed in an artillery barrage in May 2023.
Ian Frank Tortorici, 32, was a retired corporal with the US Marines who fought on the front lines. He died in July 2023 after a Russian missile struck a restaurant where he was dining on vacation, Task and Purpose reported.
Both sides said Sunday’s talks had made progress, but neither side suggested a peace deal was imminent. / Joe Riddle / Getty Images
The US government has refused to provide aid to US fighters to avoid any suggestion of direct conflict with nuclear power Russia, the Times reported in September.
But some social media users argued that Trump’s rare-to-their-families diplomacy was not measured — reminiscent of the president’s previous comments about Americans who died in war being “suckers” and “losers.”
During a trip to France in 2018, the president said American soldiers who died on French soil during World War I were “lost” and American marines who helped stop the 1918 German advance toward Paris “sucked” to die at the hands of the enemy.
The White House denied reports of the comments, which were revealed by The Atlantic magazine in 2020, but they are just one example of the president disparaging military veterans and their families.
He has mocked the late Sen. John McCain’s battle injuries, publicly insulted the parents of a 27-year-old soldier killed in a car bombing in Iraq, and privately raged about the funeral expenses of a female soldier killed by a male soldier at Fort Hood.
President Trump said Sunday that he favors peace but praised Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the man who started the war. / Andrew Harnick / Getty Images
Although he failed to offer much comfort to the families of Americans who died fighting Russia on Sunday, Trump did manage to praise the man who started the war.
“Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Trump said, prompting Zelensky to raise an eyebrow. ‘I explained to the president [Zelensky]President Putin was very generous in his sense that Ukraine had succeeded.
He also said he “understands” Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire while a longer-term deal is being hashed out.
“He feels seeing that, you know, they’re fighting and stopping, and if they have to start over, which is likely, he doesn’t want to be in that position — I understand that position,” Trump said.
Putin bombed Ukraine with more than 100 drones on Christmas Eve and early Christmas Day, killing at least seven civilians.
Sunday’s talks were aimed at addressing security guarantees and possible regional concessions, and both sides said progress had been made, with neither giving any indication that a deal was within reach.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
