Vanessa Guillen's sister Mayra explains why she voted for Trump while bashing The Atlantic's article against ex-president
On October 23, 2024, late Army private Vanessa Guillen's sister Mayra took to X to criticize The Atlantic article about Donald Trump dated October 22, 2024. The publication stated that the former president invited Vanessa's family to the White House after her remains were discovered in 2020 and told the late soldier's mother that he would help her out with Vanessa's funeral financially.
The publication claimed that during a meeting held at the Oval Office to discuss a national security matter, the former president questioned if Vanessa's family billed him for the funeral and what it cost, to which a person present at the meeting said they received a bill stating the funeral cost $60,000. The Atlantic claims it was at that moment that Trump said:
"It doesn't cost $60,000 to bury a f***ing Mexican."
Commenting on the article, Vanessa Guillen's sister Mayra tweeted:
"Wow. I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics- hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members. President Donald Trump did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today."
According to The Atlantic, Natalie Khawam, the Guillen family lawyer, told the publication that she sent the funeral bill to the White House, but the family never received money from the former president.
According to the article, Vanessa Guillén was bludgeoned to death by another soldier at Fort Cavazos in Texas in April 2020. She was born to Mexican immigrant parents.
"This is an outrageous lie from The Atlantic two weeks before the election": Trump's spokesperson mentioned
Jeffrey Goldberg, the author of The Atlantic's piece on Donald Trump talking about his comment on Vanessa Guillen's funeral and claim of not paying for the same, sent a series of questions to the former president's spokesperson, Alex Pfeiffer. However, Jeffrey received a statement from Vanessa's family lawyer, Khawam, as well as Pfeiffer asking him to publish Mayra Guillen's statement, mentioning:
“I am beyond grateful for all the support President Donald Trump showed our family during a trying time. I witnessed firsthand how President Trump honors our nation’s heroes’ service. We are grateful for everything he has done and continues to do to support our troops.”
Claiming that he did not write the statement on Mayra's behalf, the former president's spokesperson also addressed Trump's "f*cking Mexican" comment, stating the Republican nominee "never said that."
Pfeiffer also said:
“This is an outrageous lie from The Atlantic two weeks before the election.”
Additionally, Pfeiffer offered statements from Kash Patel, Christopher Miller's chief of staff, and Mark Meadows, the former president's chief of staff, who were present at the Oval Office meeting where Trump allegedly commented. Mark's spokesperson denied that the former president ordered him to not pay for Vanessa's funeral.
Kash Patel served as the chief of staff for Trump's acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller. His statement to Pfeiffer read:
“As someone who was present in the room with President Trump, he strongly urged that Spc. Vanessa Guillen’s grieving family should not have to bear the cost of any funeral arrangements, even offering to personally pay himself in order to honor her life and sacrifice."
Kash Patel's statement also mentioned that Trump had the Department of Defense designate Vanessa's death "as occurring in the line of duty," allowing her to get full military honors and her family to get access to services, benefits, and full financial assistance.
In other news, the former president's chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, John Kelly recently told The New York Times on October 22, 2024, that the former president "prefers the dictator approach to government." Moreover, John Kelly also mentioned that the Republican candidate fits into the definition of a fascist.