(Dover) Donald Trump on Wednesday witnessed the return of the bodies of six members of the crew of an American refueling plane, who died in the crash of their plane on Thursday in western Iraq.
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The press was kept away from the short ceremony at Dover Air Force Base (Delaware, eastern United States) at the request of the families, according to the White House.
The latter released some photographs on X.
In one of them, the bare-headed American president gives a military salute while a wooden box covered with the American flag is carried in front of him.
The 79-year-old Republican was strongly criticized at the beginning of the month by his opponents for having worn a cap during another “solemn transfer”, the name given by the army to this ritual, for six American soldiers killed in Kuwait.
The photojournalists, who had been authorized to cover the event, then took several photos of the president with a white headgear bearing the golden letters “USA”.
A similar model of cap is on sale on the Trump Organization website for $55.
The American press subsequently reported that a photograph of the president wearing his cap, taken during the ceremony, had been used in an email sent to potential donors.
“Donald Trump is using dead soldiers to raise funds. He is a deeply DISTURBED and REPUGNANT man,” the press service of California Governor Gavin Newsom, a figure in the Democratic Party, reacted on X.
The six soldiers whose bodies were repatriated on Wednesday died last week when the American KC-135 tanker plane they were on crashed in western Iraq.
“The loss of the aircraft was not due to enemy fire or friendly fire,” the US military said, adding that “the circumstances of the incident (were) under investigation.”
