During his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, for his third checkup in 13 months, President Trump met with service members but did not see any of the 14 troops injured in the Iran war who were recovering at the hospital, CBS News reported on May 27, citing the family of one soldier and a military official familiar with the visit (see Trump, About to Turn 80, Heads to Walter Reed for His Third Checkup in 13 Months as Prior 'MRI' Was Quietly Corrected to a Cardiac CT). The New Republic followed on May 28.
The White House did not explain the omission. “President Trump was honored to meet with our amazing service members and medical staff while at Walter Reed Medical Center,” a spokesperson said, according to CBS, which reported that the White House repeatedly declined to say whether the president saw soldiers injured in the war. One of those recovering is Sgt. Cory Hicks, injured when an Iranian drone hit an Army post in Kuwait in March in an attack that killed six American soldiers, CBS reported.
The New Republic recalled earlier episodes. While planning a military parade in his first term, Trump told his chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, “Look, I don't want any wounded guys in the parade. This doesn't look good for me.” In 2019, after a severely wounded Army captain sang at Gen. Mark Milley's welcome ceremony, Trump told Milley, “Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded.” A day before the hospital visit, in his Memorial Day remarks at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump had called the 13 Americans killed in the Iran war “wonderful souls” (see Trump Pauses His Arlington Memorial Day Speech to Joke That 'Not Too Many' Soldiers Named Donald Are Buried There and Trump's Own Intelligence Director Refuses to Say Iran Was an 'Imminent Threat,' Then Confirms Iran Wasn't Rebuilding Its Enrichment Program).
Correction (October 2, 2026): This entry dated the visit to May 27; CBS reports it took place on Tuesday, May 26. It cited a CBS News link that did not work, which has been replaced with CBS's report. It said the White House declined to comment; it issued a statement but would not say whether Trump saw wounded troops. It dated the parade remark to 2019 and attributed the “Why do you bring people like that here?” remark to a 2022 New Yorker interview; The New Republic places the parade remark in Trump's first term and the second remark at Gen. Mark Milley's 2019 welcome ceremony. Unsourced statements that roughly 400 troops have been wounded and that the visit, the Arlington remarks and a Cabinet meeting fell on the same day were removed.