The official X account for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was widely ridiculed on Memorial Day after shamefully using fallen American heroes to attack President Donald Trump. On Monday, @TheDemocrats on X posted an image of 13 fallen U.S. service members with the caption, “Today, we honor the American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in Trump’s war with Iran.” The image itself also emphasized the president, reading, “Remembering the Americans who have died in Trump’s war with Iran.” The post was received poorly online, with commenters calling it distasteful and politically motivated. Hours after it was published, the post was deleted. Screenshot: X Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), an Iraq War veteran, commented, “It is incredibly distasteful to use our heroic dead for a political attack on Memorial Day. I’m a Democrat and I condemn this post by the DNC.” It is incredibly distasteful to use our heroic dead for a political attack on Memorial Day. I’m a Democrat and I condemn this post by the DNC. https://t.co/Qv6SGR6YWn — Tammy Duckworth (@TammyDuckworth) May 25, 2026 “Politicizing the sacrifice of American soldiers on Memorial Day… Absolutely disgraceful,” Arizona GOP congressional candidate and former NFL kicker Jay Feely wrote. “Despicable post from the Democrats.” Politicizing the sacrifice of American soldiers on Memorial Day… Absolutely disgraceful. Despicable post from the Democrats https://t.co/GCW2l0Qrgf — Jay Feely (@jayfeely) May 25, 2026 Another person on X, Tali Goldsheft, said the post was “deeply unsettling,” regardless of one’s political views. “This isn’t just an infuriatingly bad post. It’s deeply unsettling,” Goldsheft wrote. “Republicans have a name for it: TDS.” “We can stand up against his problematic policies. And we should,” she added. “Using American soldiers’ deaths to score points against Trump on Memorial Day, though? Who approved this?” This isn’t just an infuriatingly bad post. It’s deeply unsettling. Republicans have a name for it: TDS. We can stand up against his problematic policies. And we should. Using American soldiers’ deaths to score points against Trump on Memorial Day, though? Who approved this? https://t.co/vZgz0VnO1y — Tali Goldsheft (@TaliGoldsheft) May 25, 2026 The account currently has only one Memorial Day post, which reads: “This Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and defend our freedoms.” This Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and defend our freedoms. pic.twitter.com/63quwX85cf — Democrats (@TheDemocrats) May 25, 2026

The Department of War shared a Memorial Day message from musician Kid Rock on Monday, reminding Americans about the cost of freedom. The rock star, known for his patriotism and unapologetic support for President Donald Trump, delivered his remarks from the Pentagon behind a lectern bearing a DOW seal, with an American flag displayed in the background. “Hey everyone, this is Kid Rock,” the video begins. “And this Memorial Day, we are remembering the sacrifice and service of so many who are not with us today. It’s a special day, and we are thinking of them. Once again, I wanted to say thank you, God bless all of you, for your sacrifice, for your service, keep on Kid Rockin’ in the free world. God bless you all.” Kid Rock, whose legal name is Robert Richie, has become one of the most recognizable celebrity allies of the president, appearing at campaign rallies and conservative events, and performing at high-profile GOP gatherings such as the 2024 Republican National Convention. The Michigan-born rocker has cultivated an image of blue-collar America, support for the troops, and defiant nationalism that has made him especially popular with conservatives and Republicans. Kid Rock’s Pentagon video is the latest of entertainers taking part in Memorial Day tributes honoring fallen service members. Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, Tim McGraw, and Lee Greenwood have also linked to patriotic themes and support for the military, while actor Gary Sinise has become closely associated with advocacy for military veterans. Memorial Day, observed annually on the last Monday in May, is dedicated to commemorating U.S. military personnel who died while serving the country.  

On Monday, President Donald Trump called on several Muslim-majority nations with long histories of hostility toward Israel to join the Abraham Accords and make peace with the Jewish state. In a Truth Social post, Trump said ongoing negotiations with Iran were “proceeding nicely” before revealing he had spoken with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain. “After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” Trump posted. He specifically singled out Saudi Arabia and Qatar, arguing their participation should commence right now. “It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit,” he insisted. “If they don’t, they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention.” He claimed the aforementioned countries would be “honored, as soon as our Document is signed, to have the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the Abraham Accords.” Trump also floated the possibility of Iran eventually joining the accords if Tehran reaches a formal agreement with the United States. “If Iran signs its Agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition,” he wrote. Brokered by the United States during Trump’s first term, the Abraham Accords are normalization agreements between Israel and several nations. On September 15, 2020, the UAE and Bahrain signed the initial treaties at the White House alongside Israel and the United States; on December 22, 2020: Morocco joined in exchange for U.S. recognition of its Western Sahara sovereignty; on January 6, 2021: Sudan signed the declaration for terrorism-list removal, though domestic conflict stalled full ratification, and on November 6, 2025: Kazakhstan formally joined the framework, expanding the agreement beyond the Arab world to deepen strategic and economic ties. Trump’s proposal would dramatically expand the accords to include countries that have historically fought wars against Israel or backed groups hostile to the Jewish state. Egypt led the main southern assault against the newly declared state of Israel in 1948, warred against the Jewish state consistently between 1967 and 1970, and launched a surprise joint offensive on the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, in 1973, with Syria to reclaim the Sinai Peninsula. Jordan warred against Israel in 1948; its Arab Legion invaded and took control of the Biblical areas of Judea, Samaria, and East Jerusalem, joined Egypt in 1967, only for Israel to take back those areas. Jordan signed a formal peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Saudi Arabia sent a dedicated military formation that fought directly against Israeli forces in 1948, which operated under Egyptian command and deployed an expeditionary force (around 3,000 soldiers) to the Syrian front to fight Israeli forces during the Yom Kippur War. The Saudis have also reportedly indicated they would not join any accord until a Palestinian state is established. Saudi Arabia will only normalize relations with Israel once there is an irreversible pathway to a Palestinian state, CNN reports citing a Saudi source, after U.S. President Trump said Middle Eastern states would be required to recognize Israel once an Iran deal is reached. — Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) May 25, 2026 The Pakistan Air Force sent volunteer military pilots to assist Arab nations in 1967 and 1973. Qatar has harbored the leaders of the terrorist group Hamas; Turkey has formally petitioned to join South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Turkish prosecutors have filed sweeping indictments against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 34 other top Israeli officials, seeking symbolic prison sentences of up to 4,500 years for “genocide” and “crimes against humanity.”

Before the engines roared at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, the world’s largest single-day sporting event pulled off the ultimate tribute to America’s fighting forces: total, spine-tingling silence. Nearly 400,000 fans packed into the Brickyard for the 110th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” but before the green flag waved, the massive crowd went completely silent as the somber, 24-note melody of “Taps” echoed across the track in honor of America’s fallen service members. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) couldn’t help but marvel at the powerful moment, taking to X to declare it the highlight of his holiday weekend. “Our country never takes for granted the profound sacrifices that have been made in the defense of freedom,” Johnson wrote. Our best moment of the Indy 500 yesterday was when nearly 400,000 Americans at the world’s largest single-day sporting event went completely silent for the playing of Taps. Our country never takes for granted the profound sacrifices that have been made in the defense of… pic.twitter.com/HZWUdhRavP — Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) May 25, 2026 For more than 75 years, “Taps” has been the emotional cornerstone of the Indy 500’s pre-race pageantry. Played by a lone bugler and accompanied by a military rifle volley, it’s the ultimate “calm before the storm.” But this hauntingly beautiful tune wasn’t born in a cozy studio. It was forged in the bloody trenches of the Civil War. In July 1862, Union General Daniel Butterfield decided the Army’s standard “Lights Out” call was way too harsh for exhausted soldiers who had just survived horrific combat. Lacking any musical training, Butterfield hummed a new melody to his brigade bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton, who scratched out the notes on the back of an envelope. The battlefield lullaby quickly morphed into a funeral farewell. During that same campaign, Captain John C. Tidball used the new tune to bury a soldier, fearing that a traditional three-gun salute would tip off nearby Confederate troops. By 1891, the U.S. Army made the 24-note salute mandatory for all military funerals, locking it into American history forever. Sunday’s race needed that peaceful moment, because what followed was absolute, unadulterated chaos in a finish worthy of Indy history. In a late restart on the final lap, David Malukas snatched the lead, seemingly destined for his first Indy 500 win. But Felix Rosenqvist had other plans. In a gutsy, high-octane move right after the final turn, Rosenqvist roared into the outside lane, passing Malukas with just feet to spare. When the smoke cleared, Rosenqvist snagged the checkered flag by a razor-thin 0.0233 seconds—the absolute closest finish in Indy 500 history. FELIX ROSENQVIST WINS THE CLOSEST FINISH IN INDY 500 HISTORY! pic.twitter.com/BBGobsgX3I — INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 24, 2026 From a breathtaking moment of silence honoring America’s bravest, straight to a historic fraction-of-a-second photo finish— an American Memorial Day weekend.

In a stirring, emotional and inspiring commencement speech at West Point, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth perfectly articulated the warrior’s credo for the graduates while he devastated the woke ideology that had permeated the military in recent years. “On a day like today, there’s no better way to start than with a word from Scripture,” he began. “And on a day as special as this, for the 998 great Americans of this class, there’s no more fitting verse than from Isaiah 6:8: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said. “Here I am. Send me.” “Many of you, even in your short time in uniform, have endured what I call the slow slide of the U. S. Army,” Hegseth recalled. “You’ve seen standards lowered. You’ve seen an obsession with race and gender. You’ve seen the watering down of discipline, codes weakened and traditions tossed aside in the name of political correctness. Statues taken down, paintings placed in the basement.” “I’m here to tell you the slow slide here at West Point and across the United States Army is over,” he declared. “Political leaders with ideological agendas and weak military leaders who were just looking to curry favor for the next star allowed our cherished army to slide off our true north. But you, our warriors, will snap it back. You are the future. Others may have allowed it to slide away. You will not. You will restore our army. And I will empower you to do it.” “The single dumbest phrase in military history was peddled in our army only a few short years ago,” he continued. “You’ve all heard it, maybe in your first two years at West Point: ‘Our diversity is our strength.’” “The single dumbest phrase in military history,” he stated. “We had generals saying this with a straight face on national television. It was absolute nonsense. Now, these sorts of silly things can be laughed at when they occur in a civilian lounge or civilian faculty lounge or debated in graduate seminars. But they cannot be tolerated in our formations. These ideas are what get people killed. Diversity is not our strength. Unity is our strength.” “When you’re out there in your formations as platoon leaders at the tip of the spear,” he said, “You will not compromise; you will not seek color, and you will not try to meet arbitrary quotas based on immutable characteristics. You do not have time to celebrate identity months. And you will not make excuses for yourselves and you will not accept excuses from others. You will lead. That’s what this academy has trained you to do, to lead us.” “There’s no substitute for preparation ever,” he said. “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Plan for recovery, resupply, alternate communications, rehearse and refine.” He turned to his ow personal history to illustrate his point: The first air assault I ever did, leading a platoon in Baghdad in the middle of the night on an al-Qaeda objective, we had 36 hours to prepare, and I spent every minute of those 36 hours preparing. It paid off. Because when the pilots dropped us a few hundred meters in the wrong spot in the middle of a mud field and the GPS didn’t work, there was one man that platoon was looking at. It was me. And because I’d done every map recon, every satellite imagery recon, every recon I could, I had a general sense of where we were and could orient at that moment in the right direction. If I had not prepared, they would have looked at me and I would have looked right back at them. And nothing I did was perfect. Nothing you’ll do will be perfect, but at least you can prepare. Always be the most prepared member in your unit.  Be decisive and be aggressive. Pick a course of action and carry it through until you have a point to reassess. Second guessing. Set the example and display courage. Both physically and morally to make the tough calls, especially when it’s not popular. It doesn’t mean you won’t be afraid. But it means you will be prepared to push through it. Know the purpose of your mission and explain it to your soldiers. “My job is easy,” he said. “Your job is hard. Your job is to forge a team of American soldiers who will stand tall, not back down, look the enemy in the eye, and whisper, ‘Send us.’ You are in the profession of arms. You feel comfortable inside the violence, so that our fellow citizens can live peacefully. Lethality is your calling card, and victory our only acceptable end state.” “My seven kids are here with me today,” he noted. “My wife, Janie, and I brought them. Our oldest is 15 years old. He may. look at attending West Point one day. Or heaven forbid, the Naval Academy,” he joked. “Who knows? We have five boys and two girls, all Americans, all children of God. I don’t know what path God will choose for them. And I know that I’ll fiercely love them no matter what they do. But I can tell you this, nothing in the world would make me prouder than to hear one of them stand up and proclaim, ‘Send me.’” “We live in a culture of clickbait and rage bait and vapid social media and celebrity gossip,” he said. “In a world like that, it’s really easy to get distracted and lost. And no matter what my kids end up choosing, I pray like this audience: they choose substance. I pray they choose service. And I pray they choose purpose. ‘Send me’ is the timeless, selfless call to service. It’s the craving to serve something greater than yourself.”