Fox News issued an apology after airing old footage of President Donald Trump during its weekend coverage of his attendance at a dignified transfer ceremony for U.S. service members killed in the ongoing conflict following strikes he ordered on Iran.
The soldiers had been killed in a drone strike in Kuwait the previous week. Those killed in action were Nicole Amor, Cody Khork, Robert Marzan, Major Jeffrey O’Brien, Noah Tietjens and Declan Coady.
Trump’s presence at the ceremony drew widespread criticism after he did not remove the baseball hat he was wearing during the event. The president was seen throughout the ceremony wearing a white Trump-branded USA hat.
You can see the footage of Trump with his hat on during the proceedings below.
California Governor Gavin Newsom soon thereafter replied:
"Take your hat off, you disgusting little man."
You can see his post below.
Others were not pleased with the display.
But Fox News—describing Trump's participation in one of "the most somber" duties expected of a president—used older footage off Trump without a cap.
The network initially aired accurate footage of Trump at the ceremony, showing him wearing a hat as he stood beside First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Later broadcasts of the network’s coverage, however, repeatedly used older footage from a similar ceremony in which Trump was not wearing a hat while saluting troops who had died in Syria.
You can see the footage below.
You can see a side-by-side comparison below.
Fox News
Griff Jenkins, the network’s weekend host, apologized on-air later:
“We want to acknowledge a mistake made earlier in our program. During our coverage of yesterday’s dignified transfer, we inadvertently aired video from an older dignified transfer instead of the ceremony that took place yesterday."
"We deeply regret the air and extend our respect and condolences to the service members’ families. We honor the sacrifice of those six American heroes.”
The network faced heavy criticism for the switcheroo—and people were not convinced it was a mistake at all.
State television is at it once again.
@mickeykuhns/Bluesky
@lwatson041/X
@ObsidianNotions/X
@jamesschilf/Bluesky
@fargozombie/Bluesky
