Donald Trump landed in a controversy over the fundraising email sent by his PAC. The communication received backlash for using a photo of the president, saluting at the dignified transfer ceremony of six soldiers. The service members had lost their lives during the ongoing conflict with Iran.
The President recently aboard Air Force One faced questions. A female ABC News reporter asked whether it was ‘appropriate’ for him to fundraise off images of the fallen soldiers. Trump defended himself by stating that he ‘did not see’ the post and said it has always been his staff who handles it. He then shot back further and claimed to be the best President for the military.
In his words, “I do. I mean, somebody puts it out. We have a lot of people working for us. But there’s nobody that’s better to the military than me. And all you have to do is look at the election. Look at the election results. Look at the kind of votes that we get. Look at the poll numbers. There’s nobody that’s ever been higher as a president than me with the military.”
However, as the reporter felt unsatisfied with the response, she further asked: “Will you comment on the dead soldiers?” At this point, Donald Trump ended up shunning the news outlet altogether. He appeared visibly irritated over ABC News and its reporting, before threatening the network for being the ‘most corrupt news organization on the planet’. Finally, he refused to answer any more questions from the outlet.
HOLY SHIT: Trump loses it and vows to stop answering questions from ABC after a reporter asked why he fundraised off him saluting dead soldiers. Trump: “I think it’s maybe the most corrupt news organizations on the planet… I don’t want any more from ABC.” What a coward!! pic.twitter.com/jchWa5fPJS
— CPW Media (@cpwmedia) March 16, 2026
Trump turned hostile and remarked, “You know what, ABC News, I think it’s maybe the most corrupt news organization on the planet. I think they’re terrible. OK, I don’t want any more from ABC News.” This is not been the first time that the president has lashed out at a news organization for asking him questions about his controversies.
The email offered its recipients a chance to become National Security Briefing Members ahead of time. If they subscribed, they would be granted access to the U.S. President’s private national security updates. But it was the use of the picture of Trump saluting during the dignified transfer ceremony of soldiers which caused an uproar. Many netizens deemed it a method used for soliciting donations ahead of time.
Additionally, the timing of the particular email from the PAC coincides with controversy surrounding the loss of American soldiers during the Iran strikes. More than six soldiers have already lost their lives. This has left American citizens and grieving families deeply questioning the war itself.
Moreover, the Trump administration has pushed back hard against the media’s extensive coverage of the dead soldiers. This stance has drawn sharp retaliation. It all started with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. He equated headline coverage of the soldiers’ deaths with an attempt to tarnish Trump’s public image.
I would love to see one “pro-Trump” media outlet for once have the courage to ask him a question like this. They never will because he would destroy their entire raison d’etre in five seconds. The cult would never watch again, and they’d go bankrupt in weeks. https://t.co/VfuuRMNKRH
— Eric Brownfield 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@BrowniePoints21) March 16, 2026
In one public statement, he had described the entire situation as bad PR machinery for the president. He claimed all the coverage was fake and said, “We’ve taken control of Iran’s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground, but when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news. I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad. But try for once to report the reality.”
In fact, Donald Trump’s presence at the dignified transfer ceremony of the first six martyred U.S. soldiers also faced the heat. The President chose to wear a casual baseball cap to the event. This went against the formal dress code and the Army’s code of conduct. His self-branded U.S.A cap did not fit the bill and was seen as politicizing the otherwise solemn event.
