With momentum in the presidential race clearly shifting in Donald Trump's favor, Democrats and their allies in the media are hoping to unleash an October surprise capable of sinking his election prospects.

However, a recent attempt by Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic to depict Trump as cruel and indifferent to a military family's loss has fallen flat, in large part due a strong defense – and indeed vindication – of the former president against the magazine's claims offered by the late soldier's loved ones, as the New York Post reports.

Goldberg's gambit

The story in The Atlantic that sparked the aforementioned controversy discussed what occurred in the wake of Army private Vanessa Guillen's 2020 death at Fort Hood.

Guillen was murdered by another soldier, only for her remains to be found two months after the fact in a riverbank.

Goldberg claimed in his piece that despite Trump's vow to pay funeral costs for the deceased soldier, the then-president became irate about the bill for services, which came to $60,000.

According to the Atlantic story, Trump then remarked, “It doesn't cost 60,000 to bury a fu**ing Mexican” and told then-chief of staff Mark Meadows not to pay the bill.

Sister, attorney respond

However, Goldberg's claims were swiftly rebutted by Guillen's own family, with her sister, Mayra, taking to X in defense of Trump.

Mayra Guillen wrote, “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.”

The bereaved sibling added, “President Donald Trump did nothing by show respect to my family & Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today.”

Guillen family attorney Natalie Khawam joined in the condemnation of Goldberg's tactic, also letting her thoughts by known on X and declaring of the Atlantic editor that “not only did he misrepresent our conversation, but he outright LIED in HIS sensational story.”

Khawam went on to say, “As everyone knows, not only did Trump support our military, he also invited my clients to the Oval Office and supported the I Am Vanessa Guillen bill too.”

Trump, Meadows rebut allegations

Meadows, for his part, did not waste any time in denying the allegations contained in Goldberg's piece, posting on social media, “I was in the discussions featured in the Atlantic's latest hit piece against President Trump. Let me say this, any suggestion that President Trump disparaged Ms. Guillen or refused to pay for her funeral expenses is absolutely false.”

“He was nothing but kind, gracious, and wanted to make sure that the military and the U.S. government did right by Vanessa Guillen and her family,” Meadows added.

Alex Pfeiffer, an adviser to the former president's current campaign, issued statement in response to the article stating, “President Donald Trump has spent his life caring for America's military heroes” and noting that “there has been no greater advocate for our brave military men and woman than Donald J. Trump,” but as Kamala Harris' electoral hopes continue to dim, this type of desperate flailing from the left is likely to persist for the foreseeable future.