The Democratic Party used the somber occasion of Memorial Day to criticize President Trump with an X post that many said exploited the deaths of US service members in the Iran war — then deleted the post and replaced it with something more inclusive.
“Today, we honor the American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in Trump’s war with Iran,” the post on the Democratic National Committee’s official X account read, accompanied by an image of the 13 US service members who have died in Operation Epic Fury.
After thousands of outraged comments and over 1.1 million views, the Democrats tried to sweep the controversy under the rug by deleting the original post, and quickly replaced it with one that didn’t use American war dead as a political cudgel.
“This Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and defend our freedoms,” the new post reads.
The image was also swapped out with a stock image of a waving American flag against a sunny sky backdrop with a small icon of the Democratic Party donkey.
But the Democrats seem to have forgotten that the internet doesn’t forget, and the mulligan tribute post was quickly beset by scores of comments featuring a screenshot of the deleted original.
“Democrats are disgusting and anti-American! The Democrat Party has lost its way and is more concerned about preserving their own careers and their political & financial gains. They don’t care about Americans,” one commenter wrote.
Another commenter seethed, “Never forget Democrats used fallen soldiers to score political points and for clicks. The most disgusting thing I have ever witnessed!”
Many called them out for deleting the initial post.
“Why did you delete this post, cowards?” asked one user.
Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters savaged Democrats’ tone deaf posting.
“Using Memorial Day to politically exploit fallen service members is appalling and disgraceful. One of the most disgusting posts I have ever seen,” he wrote on X.
Even some Democrats stepped up to slam the party’s partisan Memorial Day missive.
“It is incredibly distasteful to use our heroic dead for a political attack on Memorial Day. I’m a Democrat and I condemn this post by the DNC,” wrote Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both of her legs in combat in response to the deleted post.
