Donald Trump reportedly declared “it doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f****** Mexican” after receiving the bill for a murdered soldier’s funeral which he had previously offered to pay.
The claims, which the Trump campaign has strongly denied, appeared in a recent article published by The Atlantic, which detailed the former president’s alleged disdain for members of the military.
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Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old Army private, was bludgeoned to death in April 2020 by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood, in Texas and her burned remains were only discovered two months later.
Following the tragic incident, Trump invited Guillén’s family to the White House, where he described the young woman as a “spectacular person” and said he could help the family out “financially” and with funeral arrangements.
However, in a meeting in December 2020, Trump reportedly flew into a rage after being presented with a bill for $60,000. Attendees of the meeting told The Atlantic the former president said: “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f****** Mexican!”
The Atlantic is facing intense scrutiny over a report alleging former President Trump disparaged a slain Mexican-American Army private while he was in office, with some involved with the story declaring it “false” and a “hit piece.”
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, began a lengthy report published Tuesday about Trump’s interaction with the family of 20-year-old Vanessa Guillén, the daughter of Mexican immigrants who was murdered in April 2020 by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood.
After her remains were discovered two months later, Trump consoled Guillén’s family at the White House and offered to provide financial assistance to cover the funeral costs. But Goldberg reported Trump became enraged when he got the bill, refusing to pay it, saying, “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f—ing Mexican!”
According to the report, Natalie Khawam, Guillén’s family attorney, told Goldberg the family did not receive money from Trump and that the costs were ultimately covered in part by the Army and donations.
Donald Trump raged when he learned the funeral bill for Vanessa Guillén—the U.S. soldier who was sexually harassed and horrifically murdered by a male soldier at Fort Hood in 2020—cost $60,000, a bombshell report revealed Tuesday.
That outburst came after Trump invited Guillén’s loved ones to the White House and offered to pay for her funeral, The Atlantic reported.
Guillén, a 20-year-old American of Mexican ancestry from Houston, was buried in her hometown on Aug. 15, 2020. Months later, in December, Trump reportedly asked his advisers in a meeting, “Did they bill us for the funeral? What did it cost?”
When an aide responded “yes” with the bill’s total, Trump allegedly unraveled. “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f—ing Mexican,” he said, according to people in the meeting who spoke to the Atlantic.
He also reportedly told his chief of staff at the time, Mark Meadows, not to pay the bill and later accused the family of “trying to rip me off,” per the outlet. A family lawyer told The Atlantic that no money from Trump was received.
In statements shared with The Independent, members of the Trump campaign and former staff members vehemently denied that such exchanges took place. “President Donald Trump never said that. This is an outrageous lie from The Atlantic two weeks before the election,” said Trump campaign adviser Alex Pfeiffer.
“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 wrote on X. “More importantly, he used and exploited my clients, and Vanessa Guillen’s murder… for cheap political gain. I would like to also point out that the timing of this ‘story’ is quite suspicious, as this supposed conversation that Trump had would have occurred over 4 years ago! Why a story about it now?!”
“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. I’m grateful we were successful in getting bipartisan support of the I Am Vanessa Guillen Act, and because of everyone’s hard work and efforts our service members now have more protections and rights while serving our country,” she added.
The magazine reported that Trump then turned to his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and ordered him, “Don’t pay it!” That order was apparently heeded by Meadows, as the Atlantic reported that Trump never sent a dime to help cover funeral costs for the slain woman.
Trump was reportedly still irked by the bill later that same day, with him claiming that Guillén’s grieving family was trying to take advantage of his wealth.
“Can you believe it?” he said, according to a witness. “F—ing people, trying to rip me off.”
Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesperson for Trump, said in a statement to the Atlantic that Trump never referred to Guillén as a “f—ing Mexican.”
“President Donald Trump never said that,” he said. “This is an outrageous lie from The Atlantic two weeks before the election.”
The statement published by The Atlantic did not mention a denial from Trump’s campaign that he dodged paying the bill. That’s despite him being recorded promising that summer: “If I can help you out with the funeral, I’ll help—I’ll help you with that. I’ll help you out. Financially, I’ll help you.”
Kash Patel, former Pentagon Chief of Staff, who was reportedly in the room at the time of the alleged comments said: “Of course, President Trump didn’t say that. President Trump ensured that this victim received full military honors.”
Patel added: “As someone who was present in the room with President Trump during that meeting… he strongly urged that Spc. Vanessa Guillen’s grieving family should not have to bear the cost of any funeral arrangements, even offering to personally pay himself in order to honor her life and sacrifice.
“In addition, President Trump was able to have the Department of Defense designate her death as occurring ‘in the line of duty,’ which gave her full military honors and provided her family access to benefits, services, and complete financial assistance.”
Goldberg continued, “Trump became angry. ‘It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f—ing Mexican!’ He turned to his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and issued an order: ‘Don’t pay it!’ Later that day, he was still agitated. ‘Can you believe it?’ he said, according to a witness. ‘F—ing people, trying to rip me off.’”
“The personal qualities displayed by Trump in his reaction to the cost of the Guillén funeral—contempt, rage, parsimony, racism—hardly surprised his inner circle,” Goldberg told readers. “Trump has frequently voiced his disdain for those who serve in the military and for their devotion to duty, honor, and sacrifice.”
Natalie Khawam, the Guillén family’s attorney, told the Atlantic that the cost of the funeral—attended by the mayor of Houston and the city’s police chief—was covered by donations and partially by the U.S. Army. She also passed on a note from Guillen’s sister, Mayra Guillén, that praised Trump.
“I am beyond grateful for all the support President Donald Trump showed our family during a trying time,” the statement reads. “I witnessed firsthand how President Trump honors our nation’s heroes’ service. We are grateful for everything he has done and continues to do to support our troops.”
An investigation after Guillén’s death found her base had allowed for a “permissive environment for sexual assault and sexual harassment” to be formed. Fourteen staffers at the base were either been dismissed or disciplined as a result of the investigation, which uncovered 217 unreported accounts of sexual harassment and 93 credible accounts of sexual assault.
Meadows also refuted the claims, saying that they were “absolutely false.” “He was nothing, but kind, gracious, and wanted to make sure that the military and the US government did right by Vanessa Guillen and her family,” he said.
In addition, following the publication of the claims in The Atlantic, Mayra Guillen, sister of Vanessa Guillen, blasted the outlet for “exploiting my sister’s death for politics,” describing the piece as “hurtful and disrespectful.”
“I was in the discussions featured in the Atlantic’s latest hit piece against President Trump. Let me say this. Any suggestion that President Trump disparaged Ms. Guillen or refused to pay for her funeral expenses is absolutely false,” Meadows wrote on X. “He 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.”
Ben Williamson, Meadow’s spokesman, shared a screenshot of the statement he provided to Goldberg saying, “President Donald Trump absolutely did not say that,” and called out how Goldberg “translated” that comment in the report, which said that Meadows “denied having heard Trump make the statement.”
