What exactly did Donald J. Trump say about veterans and when was the quote made?

1. What he said, in the clearest quoted lines

The official transcripts and factbases record several direct statements: “Today to every veteran, we love our veterans, we say the words too often left unsaid, thank you for your service” and “Thank you very much. And we wanna also say thank you for carrying America’s fate on your strong, very broad, proud shoulders” ^{[1] [4]}. News accounts quote him saying “We don’t like being politically correct, so we’re not going to be politically correct anymore” during the Arlington remarks ^[2]. Multiple outlets also quote his proclamation-style claims: that he would designate the holiday to celebrate military victories as “Victory Day” for the World Wars and that under his administration the Department of Defense has been renamed back to the “Department of War” ^[3].

2. When and where the remarks were made

Trump’s contested remarks took place on November 11, 2025, at a Veterans Day ceremony held at Arlington National Cemetery and were published in official White House materials and congressional/transcript repositories the same day ^{[4] [5]}. White House material includes a Veterans Day proclamation signed “this tenth day of November” and the Arlington speech transcript and media coverage date the ceremony to November 11, 2025 ^{[5] [4]}.

3. How official sources framed his tone and message

The White House proclamation emphasized honoring veterans and commemorating service, repeating traditional language about the “courage, honor, and dedicated service of our veterans” and formally proclaiming November 11, 2025, as Veterans Day ^[5]. The administration’s transcripts present a mixture of gratitude for veterans and boasts about administration accomplishments for veterans (e.g., claims about cutting VA backlogs) within the same speech ^{[1] [4]}.

4. Media reaction and which lines drew controversy

Mainstream outlets flagged the speech’s most contentious elements. Axios highlighted his anti–“politically correct” line and his push to rename the holiday ^[2]. The Independent and other outlets focused on his remarks about renaming Veterans Day to “Victory Day” and reverting the Department of Defense’s name to “Department of War,” presenting those lines as departures from traditional Veterans Day themes and the source of public debate ^[3]. Coverage also noted moments of mockery online, such as criticisms about singing “God Bless America,” showing how non-policy aspects of the event fueled commentary ^[6].

5. Disagreements and competing perspectives in the coverage

Reporting shows two competing framings: official and sympathetic outlets emphasize gratitude and administration accomplishments for veterans (citations of “we love our veterans” and claims of VA backlog reductions) while other outlets, including opinion and investigative pieces, emphasize the controversial renaming proposals and performative elements that diverted attention from veterans themselves ^{[1] [4] [2] [3]}. Opinion pieces criticized the renaming push as part of a broader administration pattern of rebranding institutions ^[7].

6. What the sources do not settle or omit

Available sources do not mention a full verbatim single-line quote for every contentious claim in a uniform official text (for example, some outlets attribute the “Department of War” line and “Victory Day” proclamation wording directly, while others summarize or contextualize those claims) — readers should consult the full transcript to match each contested phrase exactly ^{[1] [4] [3]}. Sources also vary on numerical claims about veterans’ unemployment or exact VA metrics: proponents cited steep improvements while third-party watchdogs and veterans groups’ independent assessments are not provided in this set of sources ^{[8] [9]}.

7. Bottom line and how to verify further

The central facts are clear in the available reporting: Trump spoke at Arlington on November 11, 2025, thanked veterans explicitly, and used parts of the speech to propose renaming Veterans Day and reverting Defense Department nomenclature—lines that generated controversy ^{[1] [4] [3]}. To verify exact phrasing and context, read the full Arlington transcript and the White House Veterans Day proclamation linked above ^{[1] [5]}. For evaluation of factual claims about VA performance or unemployment figures mentioned in the speech, consult independent VA statistics and nonpartisan analyses — those are not provided in the current set of sources (not found in current reporting).