First Lady Melania Trump mysteriously pulled out of a ceremony honoring fallen U.S. soldiers killed during an ISIS ambush in Syria last week.
The elusive First Lady had been scheduled to attend the dignified transfer ceremony with President Donald Trump to receive the bodies of the American soldiers and a civilian interpreter on Wednesday.
But while the president travelled to Dover Air Force base in Delaware to pay his respects—accompanied by his now-controversial chief of staff Susie Wiles, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth and former House speaker Kevin McCarthy—Melania Trump was nowhere to be seen.
A White House official confirmed to the Daily Beast that the first lady had pulled out of the ceremony at the last minute but declined to explain why.
The ceremony was held to honor Iowa National Guard soldiers Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, and William Nathaniel Howard, 29.
The pair, along with civilian interpreter and Michigan resident Ayad Mansoor Sakat, were killed on December 13 during a counter-terrorism mission in the Palmyra region of Syria.
U.S. officials have attributed the ambush to an Islamic State affiliate.
“This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them,” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Saturday.
“The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be very serious retaliation.”
The first lady’s absence came hours after a trailer for a new documentary was released publicly on Wednesday morning, offering a behind-the-scenes look at her life in the 20 days leading up to President Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, inauguration.
It opens with the first lady preparing to enter the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for the swearing-in. As the camera pans past, she turns to it and declares, “Here we go again.
She is also seen in a series of other clips, from placing flowers on a grave to coaching her husband on a speech.
The movie, titled Melania, is set for a broader theatre l release on Jan. 30, 2026.
Wednesday’s event was the first dignified transfer ceremony the President has attended since returning to the White House in January.
He attended several in his first term, describing them as “the toughest thing” he has to do as Commander-in-Chief.
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