Donald Trump has sparked fresh controversy by using his nation’s Memorial Day to suggest those who died fighting for the country would be “very happy and proud” with his his performance as president.

Just hours before travelling to Arlington National Cemetery to speak at a Memorial Day remembrance ceremony, the president used Twitter to seek credit for the state of the economy and the low unemployment rate among people of colour.

“Happy Memorial Day! Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today,” he wrote.

“Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for blacks and hispanics EVER (& women in 18 years), rebuilding our military and so much more. Nice!”

The comments by Mr Trump on a day that has been marked since 1868 to honour those who died while serving in the country’s armed forces, triggered immediate criticism. Many commentators said it was inappropriate for the president to try and score political points on such a day.

Former Army Gen Martin Dempsey, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the administrations of Barack Obama, said on Twitter: “This day, of all days of the year, should not be about any one of us.”

John Kirby, a State Department spokesman in the Obama administration, called Mr Trump”s tweet “one of the most inappropriate, ignorant and tone-deaf things our Commander-in-Chief could have said on a day like today”.

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Nate Bell, a conservative Arkansas politician also known for controversial remarks, said Mr Trump’s comment represented “perhaps the most disgusting Trump tweet ever”.

“Memorial Day is a solemn day to reflect on the memories of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, liberty & justice for all,” he said.

“It’s NOT a ‘Happy’ day nor is it a day to tout your draft dodging ‘bone spurs’ self.”

VoteVets.org, a veterans’ rights which says it has 500,000 supporters across the country, also condemned the remark.

“This is the most inappropriate #MemorialDay comment that a @POTUS has ever made. Self-promotion on a day to remember the fallen, and wishing those remembering their deceased loved ones a “happy” holiday is appalling,” the group wrote on Twitter.

Neither Mr Trump or any members of his immediate family served in the US military. The president received five draft deferrals for Vietnam, some of which were for purportedly having bone spurs.

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Col Cedric Leighton, a retired officer with the US Air Force, told CNN Mr Trump’s ought not to have made his comment on such a day. He said Mr Trump also had no right to claim he knew what fallen veterans would have made of his presidency.

“There has to be a separation of what you do on Memorial Day and what you do as part of your political” behaviour, he told CNN.

Later on Monday morning, Mr Trump attended a memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery, which is home to an estimated 420,000 fallen soldiers.

“We mourn alongside their families and we strive to be worthy of their sacrifice,” he told cabinet members, military leaders, veterans and families assembled in the marble amphitheatre near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Associated Press said Mr Trump said he came to the “sacred soil” of Arlington, “to honour the lives and deeds of America’s greatest heroes”.

Mr Trump also laid a wreath at the tomb during his second Memorial Day visit as president.

At Arlington, Mr Trump said those who died for America, “rest in these hallowed fields, in cemeteries, battlefields and burial grounds near and far, and are drawn from the full tapestry of American life”.

He said they came from “every generation, from towering cities and wind-swept prairies, from privilege and from poverty. They were generals and privates, captains and corporals of every race, colour and of every creed, but they were all brothers and sisters in arms”.