Trump Blasted for ‘Pathetic’ Moment at Solemn Troop Ceremony

President Donald Trump is facing fierce criticism after a Democratic congressman and decorated Army veteran accused him of appearing detached during a solemn dignified transfer for four fallen U.S. service members.

Rep. Pat Ryan of New York, who served two combat tours in Iraq as a military intelligence officer and earned two Bronze Stars, did not mince words after Trump attended the ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday.

The ceremony honored four soldiers killed over the past week amid the president’s war against Iran: Army 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30.

Ryan: You see there’s a photo with everyone’s heads bowed, and he’s just staring off into the abyss. It’s just pathetic. What do you expect from a five-time draft dodger? This is a guy who has never served a single day in uniform and is willing to send other people’s kids to… pic.twitter.com/9EFdFb35Ik

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 23, 2026

For Ryan, the optics were hard to stomach.

“You see there’s a photo with every leader with their head down, bowed, and he’s just staring off into the abyss. It’s just pathetic,” Ryan, 44, told MeidasTouch.

The moment has quickly become another flashpoint in the growing political fight over Trump’s expanding conflict with Iran, a war he once suggested would be over in weeks. Instead, the death toll has continued to climb. Eighteen U.S. service members have died since late February, when Trump launched the war, according to recent reporting.

Ryan, one of the more prominent Democratic veterans in Congress, went even further as he slammed Trump’s record and questioned whether the president truly understands the sacrifice of military families.

“What do you expect from a five-time draft dodger who has no clue what this is? The American people see this,” Ryan said.

Trump received five deferments during the Vietnam War era, including four tied to education and one medical deferment for bone spurs, a point Democrats have repeatedly used to attack his credibility on military issues.

“This is a guy that has never served a single day in uniform but is willing to send other people’s kids to fight in his wars while his own sons are profiting off all these defense companies’ stocks that they own,” Ryan continued.

The congressman’s remarks came as scrutiny intensifies over the Trump family’s financial ties to defense-related businesses. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have been linked to drone companies and defense-sector ventures, including firms that have pursued or landed military-related deals.

Ryan called the situation “absolutely disgusting” and “absolutely un-American,” then turned his fire on Republicans who have continued backing Trump’s Iran policy.

Every Republican, he said, needed to support a war powers resolution aimed at reining in the president’s authority.

“If not,” Ryan warned, “their name is on this.”

The measure ultimately passed the House, though only four Republicans joined Democrats in supporting it.

Ryan also laid responsibility at the feet of Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and GOP lawmakers who have refused to stop the war.

“I think increasingly, the blood of our fallen is certainly on Hegseth’s hands and Trump’s hands, and every Republican who continues this war and doesn’t stop it today,” Ryan said. “They’re accountable for that.”

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.

Trump’s appearance at Dover was followed by a campaign-style speech in Georgia, where he described giving Feehan’s grieving family a ride on Air Force One after the ceremony.

“One of the families happened to be traveling to Georgia. Beautiful family, beautiful wife and husband, and brother-in-law,” Trump told supporters. “And I said, ‘I’m going to Georgia too. Where are you going?’ She says, ‘Well, after this, sir… we’re going to Georgia.’ I said, ‘So, if you want, I’ll give you a ride on Air Force One.’ And they said, ‘Wow!’”

The president continued by telling the crowd that the family was aboard the presidential aircraft that day.

“So today, they’re on Air Force One — and it’s quite nice, I must say — and they said, ‘Wow, this is something,’” Trump said.

For Trump’s supporters, the gesture may have looked like a personal act of comfort. But for critics, Ryan’s comments captured something much darker: a president accused of turning even a moment of national mourning into a political performance.

And with more American families now receiving the news every military household dreads, Democrats are betting that the public’s patience with Trump’s war is wearing thin.