Overview

• Trump kicked off Memorial Day with an all-caps Truth Social post branding Democrats as “scum” and federal judges as “monsters,” a message widely deemed inappropriate for the holiday.
• The post falsely claimed 21 million illegal border crossings under President Biden and urged “good and compassionate” judges to overturn rulings he opposes.
• Later at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and honored fallen service members and Gold Star families.
• In his Memorial Amphitheater address, he blended praise for war heroes with criticism of Biden’s border policies and self-congratulatory remarks about hosting the World Cup, Olympics and the nation’s 250th anniversary.
• Veteran groups, opponents and some Republicans criticized both the holiday post and his cemetery speech as divisive and unpresidential on a day meant to honor America’s war dead.