President Donald Trump faced fierce bipartisan criticism after wearing a gold-embroidered “USA” baseball cap during a solemn ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday, March 7, where the remains of six service members killed in the war with Iran returned home.
The president stood alongside First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance as six flag-draped coffins were carried from a military aircraft at approximately 3 p.m. Trump saluted the fallen troops while wearing the white cap, which features “USA” on the front, “45-47” on one side, and an American flag on the other. The $55 hat is available for purchase on Trump’s merchandise website.
The six Army Reserve soldiers, all members of the 103rd Sustainment Command, died when an Iranian drone struck a tactical operations center at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait on Sunday, March 1. The fallen service members were Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39; Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20; Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54. An additional 18 service members were wounded in the strike.
The attack came the day after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28.
Following the death of the service members on March 1, Trump said, “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
A few days later, he repeated that sentiment in an interview with Time Magazine, “…You know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.”
Trump’s decision to keep his hat on during the dignified transfer sparked immediate backlash across political lines. California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on social media: “Take your hat off, you disgusting little man.” Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele condemned the president’s choice, calling Trump a “fool” with “ABSOLUTELY no sense of dignity or appreciation for the moment.”
The Veterans of Foreign Wars guidance states that for military funerals, “it is appropriate (and a visible sign of respect) to remove the hat or headdress and place it over your heart.” While the dignified transfer is not technically a funeral, removing one’s hat as a sign of respect is a common American custom.
Based on publicly available images, no other U.S. president has worn a baseball cap during a dignified transfer ceremony.
The controversy deepened when Fox News aired footage from a different dignified transfer ceremony during multiple programs over the weekend. The network showed video from a December 17, 2025 ceremony where Trump was not wearing a hat, rather than Saturday’s actual event.
The incorrect footage appeared on “The Big Weekend Show” on Saturday and “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday morning before the network issued an on-air apology.
“We want to acknowledge a mistake made earlier on our program during our coverage of yesterday’s dignified transfer,” Fox host Griff Jenkins said. “We inadvertently aired video from an older dignified transfer instead of the ceremony that took place yesterday. We deeply regret the error and extend our respect and condolences to the service members’ families.”
A Fox spokesperson told media outlets that the archival footage was “mistakenly used during the video sourcing process.”
Media critics questioned whether the error was truly inadvertent. Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief of Zeteo, wrote that if any other network made such an error, “it would be a huge scandal” and “people would lose their jobs.” Television journalist Bill Carter suggested Fox made “a deliberate choice to try to protect Trump from criticism.”
Speaking to Latin American leaders at his Doral golf club in Miami on Saturday before attending the ceremony, Trump addressed the fallen troops. “They’re great heroes in our country, and we’re going to keep it that way,” the president said. “When it comes to war, there’s always that. We’re going to keep it to a minimum.”
Later, speaking to reporters at Dover after the transfer, Trump said: “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
Trump met with the families of the fallen service members at the air base before the dignified transfer began. He was accompanied by Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“The parents were so proud of ‘their boy,’ as they called him,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “In one case, a young lady. The parents are so proud.”
When asked if the solemn ceremony would affect his military strategy, Trump responded: “We’re winning the war by a lot. We’ve decimated their whole evil empire.”
