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Skip to main contentSkip to navigationClose dialogue1/1Next imagePrevious imageToggle captionSkip to navigationPrint subscriptionsNewsletters Sign inUSUS editionUK editionAustralia editionEurope editionInternational editionThe Guardian - Back to homeThe GuardianNewsOpinionSportCultureLifestyleShow moreHide expanded menuNewsView all NewsUS newsUS politicsWorld newsClimate crisisMiddle EastUkraineSoccerBusinessEnvironmentTechScienceNewslettersWellnessOpinionView all OpinionThe Guardian viewColumnistsLettersOpinion videosCartoonsSportView all SportSoccerNFLTennisMLBMLSNBAWNBANHLF1GolfCultureView all CultureFilmBooksMusicArt & designTV & radioStageClassicalGamesLifestyleView all LifestyleWellnessFashionFoodRecipesLove & sexHome & gardenHealth & fitnessFamilyTravelMoneySearch input google-search SearchSupport usPrint subscriptionsNewslettersDownload the appSearch jobsDigital ArchiveGuardian LicensingAbout UsThe Guardian appVideoPodcastsPicturesInside the GuardianGuardian WeeklyCrosswordsWordiplyCorrectionsSearch input google-search SearchSearch jobsDigital ArchiveGuardian LicensingAbout UsUSUS politicsWorldClimate crisisMiddle EastUkraineSoccerBusinessEnvironmentTechScienceNewslettersWellness A memorial for Vanessa Guillén in Houston, Texas, on 14 August 2020. Photograph: Mark Felix/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA memorial for Vanessa Guillén in Houston, Texas, on 14 August 2020. Photograph: Mark Felix/AFP/Getty ImagesDonald Trump This article is more than 3 months oldSister of slain army private and others speak out after alleged 2020 Trump remarkThis article is more than 3 months oldAtlantic report claims Trump disputed funeral costs he offered to pay for Vanessa Guillén, a murdered US soldierAnna BettsWed 23 Oct 2024 11.24 EDTLast modified on Wed 23 Oct 2024 12.05 EDTShareA row has broken out in the aftermath of a report from the Atlantic that claims Donald Trump refused to cover the funeral costs of a soldier who was murdered at a Texas military base in 2020.The deceased woman’s sister came to the defense of the former US president amid a wave of backlash against Trump.The Atlantic story, written by Jeffrey Goldberg, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, alleges that, in 2020, then US president Trump got angry about a $60,000 bill he received from Vanessa Guillén’s family for her funeral, which he had previously offered to pay.Trump allegedly said, “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican,” and then told his chief of staff Mark Meadows not to pay it.Guillén was a 20-year-old army private when she disappeared from the Fort Hood military base in Killeen, Texas, after telling friends and family she had been sexually harassed on the base. Her remains were found around two months later, dismembered and burned.US army ordered to release records about Trump’s Arlington cemetery visitRead moreProsecutors said that she was killed by another soldier, Aaron Robinson, who fatally shot himself when confronted by police.Robinson’s girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, was sentenced to 30 years behind bars for her role in Guillén’s murder. She pleaded guilty to one count of accessory to murder and three counts of false statement or representation.After Guillén’s remains were found, Trump met with Guillén’s family at the White House in July 2020 and promised to help them pay for Vanessa’s funeral.The new allegations in the Atlantic on Tuesday cite two people who say that Trump questioned the funeral cost in December 2020 and made the derogatory remark, and the family never received any money from the former president.Through a spokesperson quoted in the Atlantic article, Trump has denied the accusations.Later on Tuesday, after the Atlantic report was published, Vanessa’s sister Mayra Guillén criticized the story on social media.“I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics – hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members,” she wrote, referring to a bipartisan federal law named after Vanessa, which requires, among other things, that sexual harassment complaints involving service members be sent to an independent investigator, which was signed into law in 2021 by the Biden administration.In her statement, Mayra added: “President Donald Trump did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today.”Natalie Khawam, an attorney for the Guillén family, also disparaged the Atlantic piece and the author online.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to This Week in TrumplandFree newsletterA deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administrationEnter your email address Sign upPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotion“After having dealt with hundreds of reporters in my legal career, this is unfortunately the first time I have to go on record and call out Jeffrey Goldberg@the Atlantic: not only did he misrepresent our conversation but he outright LIED in HIS sensational story,” Khawam said. “More importantly, he used and exploited my clients, and Vanessa Guillen’s murder … for cheap political gain.”She continued: “As everyone knows, not only did Trump support our military, he also invited my clients to the Oval Office and supported the I Am Vanessa Guillen bill too.”Meadows also reacted to the piece, saying: “Any suggestion that President Trump disparaged Ms. Guillen or refused to pay for her funeral expenses is absolutely false,” adding that Trump was “nothing but kind, gracious, and wanted to make sure that the military and the U.S. government did right by Vanessa Guillen and her family”.The Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Tim Walz, who served in the army national guard, also spoke out about the alleged comments made by the former president.“Don’t be the frog in the boiling water and think this is OK,” the Minnesota governor said at a rally on Tuesday, referring to the allegations. “As a 24-year veteran of our military, that makes me sick as hell, and it should make you sick.”Elsewhere on Tuesday evening, Texas congressman Joaquin Castro weighed in on X, writing of the alleged remarks: “Trump has nothing but contempt for Latinos, women, and our servicemembers. This man doesn’t give a damn about us.”The Atlantic story also alleges that Trump once said that he needed “the kind of generals that Hitler had” during private conversations in the White House, according to two people who say they heard him, which was also substantiated by Trump’s former White House chief of staff John Kelly.Trump’s spokesperson has denied that the former president said this, calling it “absolutely false”.Explore more on these topicsDonald TrumpUS militaryTexasThe AtlanticMark MeadowsRacenewsShareReuse this contentMost viewedMost viewedUSUS politicsWorldClimate crisisMiddle EastUkraineSoccerBusinessEnvironmentTechScienceNewslettersWellnessNewsOpinionSportCultureLifestyleOriginal reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morningSign up for our emailAbout usHelpComplaints & correctionsSecureDropWork for us Privacy policyCookie policyTerms & conditionsContact usAll topicsAll writersDigital newspaper archiveTax strategyFacebookYouTubeInstagramLinkedInNewslettersAdvertise with usGuardian LabsSearch jobsBack to top© 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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i wonder what theyll be thinking as they amd or people they know and love are deported ?