Donald Trump is facing a fierce backlash after a fundraising email from his political operation used a photo taken during a dignified transfer of fallen U.S. service members. The message, sent this week by a Trump-linked group, included an image showing Trump saluting as a flag-draped transfer case was carried.
CNN reported that the email was paid for by Never Surrender Inc. and offered donors a place in a new “National Security Briefing Membership.” The pitch promised that members would “receive my private national security briefings” and get “unfiltered updates on the threats facing America,” while multiple donate links urged recipients to “claim your spot.”
The dignified transfer ceremony was held at Dover Air Force Base, where the six service members who lost their lives in a recent attack were honored. The image also showed President Donald Trump wearing a white baseball cap.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office called the fundraising tactic “deeply SICK and DISGUSTING,” accusing the campaign of “fundraising off of dead soldiers.”
The Mirror reported that the use of the image crossed a moral line and showed poor judgment at a moment of national mourning.
Reckless is the only way to describe Donald Trump’s war with Iran.
He’s a wrecking ball president. pic.twitter.com/eXS9L3el1k
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) March 1, 2026
The photograph had originally been posted by the White House after the ceremony. The image shows President Donald Trump standing near military personnel as a transfer case is moved. Never Surrender incorporated that photo into the donation appeal without any clear apology or removal after the backlash began.
Many readers and officials said using such a photo for fundraising showed a troubling willingness to mix grief and political gain.
One X user wrote, “…he’s wearing his white merch cap that says “U$A.” Think about that for a second. A ceremony meant to honor the return of fallen American service members is being turned into a fundraising prop. That isn’t patriotism. It’s shameless, crass, and deeply disrespectful.”
Trump is now fundraising off a photo of himself at the Dover dignified transfer ceremony.
In the image, he’s wearing his white merch cap that says “U$A.”
Think about that for a second.
A ceremony meant to honor the return of fallen American service members is being turned into… https://t.co/kqjpKZHsT7
— P a u l ◉ (@SkylineReport) March 13, 2026
Another X user chimed in and wrote, “Can you even imagine if you were a loved one of one of those service members? This may be the grossest thing he has ever done. What kind of a person fundraises off of dead service people?”
One more netizen lamented on X, writing, “How can the USA allow it’s own president to grift like this? It is shameful! Why are citizens not flooding the streets in protest daily or every weekend all around the country? What is it going to take?”
The backlash was intense because on March 10, 2026, President Donald Trump was a “no-show” during the dignified transfer of Sergeant Benjamin Pennington. The 26-year-old was killed in the U.S.—Iran war. After that, Trump’s white fundraising baseball cap at the March 13th dignified transfer was bound to draw criticism.
Never Surrender’s pitch also raised questions about whether promising “private national security briefings” to paying members could risk blurring lines between classified information and political fundraising.
For now, the story has become another flashpoint in a larger national argument over the conduct of political leaders, especially during wartime. The dignified transfer of the fallen should remain a time of respect, not another fundraising moment.
