Trump’s Trip to Walter Reed Did Not Include a Visit to 14 Service Members Injured in Iran War: Report

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump visited with some U.S. service members during his latest trip to Walter Reed Medical Center, but reportedly did not stop to see any of the 14 troops recently injured in the Iran war.

Trump traveled to Walter Reed for a six-month checkup on Tuesday, and the White House said he was “honored to meet with our amazing service members and medical staff” while there.

However, CBS News spoke with the family of one soldier recovering from injuries sustained during the Iran war, and another military official “familiar” with Trump’s visit, who said the president bypassed the recently injured.

Although it’s customary for American presidents to visit with soldiers wounded in battle, a White House spokesperson “declined to provide any guidance on why the president did not meet with soldiers wounded in the Iran war,” the report said.

CBS News mentioned Trump’s past discomfort with injured soldiers:

Mr. Trump has previously faced scrutiny for his descriptions of wounded service members. During his first term, he said the soldiers injured in a 2020 Iranian airstrike on an American base in Iraq weren’t worth mentioning because they had suffered “headaches,” which he described as “not very serious.”

A CBS News investigation later found dozens of soldiers who had suffered brain injuries were denied the Purple Heart as part of an effort to downplay their wounds and avoid undercutting Mr. Trump. One later took his own life.

Those currently convalescing at Walter Reed include Sergeant Cory Hicks, who was stationed in Kuwait when a drone attack at the start of the war killed six American soldiers and injured more than 20. CBS News reported that Hicks suffered “a lacerated kidney, a severed spleen and a traumatic brain injury.”

“I lost six of my battle buddies who were sitting pretty close to me and that’s a struggle within itself,” Hicks said in an April interview. “The invisible wounds are hard to heal. A lot of them were further away from the blast than I was, so when you go through something like that, you go through a lot of guilt.”

Trump attended the dignified transfers of those killed in Kuwait, as well as those killed during a refueling mission.

Trump has often spoken of the 13 service members killed in the Iran campaign. During his Memorial Day remarks at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump called the soldiers who died “wonderful souls” who “gave their lives” to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

During Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump called the 13, “great people,” and said it was “a terrible thing” to lose them.

“We want to lose very few, we want very few to be injured,” Trump said. “We’re very careful, but war is war. War is dangerous.”

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