Atlantic Reports Trump Made Racist Remark About Soldier's Funeral; Staffers, Soldier’s Family Cast Doubt

In the Atlantic (Left bias), Jeffrey Goldberg accused former President Donald Trump of saying, "It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f****** Mexican!” when referring to 20-year-old Army private Vanessa Guillén, who was murdered in 2020. Goldberg’s report was based on two anonymous sources in the meeting. 

Allegation: Trump offered to pay for Guillén’s funeral. At an Oval Office meeting in Dec. 2020, Trump reportedly asked, “Did they bill us for the funeral? What did it cost?” When told they were billed $60,000, according to the Atlantic, Trump made the “f****** Mexican!” comment and told his chief of staff not to pay it. Natalie Khawam, the family attorney, said the Army and donations helped cover funeral costs, and that they didn’t receive money from the White House.

Denial: Trump’s then-chief of staff Mark Meadows and another staffer, who were in the meeting, deny that Trump made the comment. Khawam and the victim's sister, Mayra Guillén, criticized the Atlantic’s report; Guillén said Trump “did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa.” When asked about the denials, Goldberg replied, “I don’t make much of them at all. The sister wasn’t in the meeting. The lawyer for the family wasn’t in the meeting.”

How the Media Covered It: Outlets on the left were more likely to lead with Trump's alleged remark. Outlets on the right were more likely to lead with criticisms and denials of Goldberg’s reporting, sometimes suggesting Guillén's family directly denied the report.