U.S. Army rebukes Trump campaign for incident at Arlington National Cemetery
The US Army issued a stark rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign over the incident on Monday at Arlington National Cemetery, saying in a statement on Thursday that participants in the ceremony “were made aware of federal laws” regarding political activity at the cemetery, and “abruptly pushed aside” an employee of the cemetery.
“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside,” the Army spokesperson said in the statement on Thursday. Section 60 is an area in the cemetery largely reserved for the graves of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve,” the statement said.
The Army spokesperson said while the incident was reported to the police department at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, the employee in question “decided not to press charges” so the Army “considers this matter closed.”
The Army’s statement is a rare rebuke from a military service that loathes to get in the middle of highly political issues. It’s also not the first time there has been a controversy involving Trump related to the military as his campaign looks to make the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration a key election issue. [Continue reading…]
Former president Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, doubled down Wednesday on telling Vice President Kamala Harris to “go to hell,” falsely repeating that she had feigned outrage over an altercation between Trump’s campaign and an Arlington cemetery worker when she had not.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Vance defended his attack on Harris — saying “go to hell” is “a colloquial phrase” — and tied it to broader criticism of the administration’s handling of an Islamic State attack that killed 13 U.S. troops during the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Don’t focus on Donald Trump showing up to grieve with some people who lost their children. Focus on your own job. Don’t do this fake outrage thing. If Kamala Harris was really outraged about what happened, then she would do her job differently, start a real investigation, and fire some of the people who are involved.”
Vance also referred to a 2020 Biden campaign video that included a photo of Biden as vice president in 2010 in Section 60, the area of the cemetery that includes recent conflicts. However, the photo was taken at an official Memorial Day event, not while Biden was campaigning for president a decade later. The content of the campaign video memorialized soldiers and did not attack his opponent.
Harris, who began a two-day bus tour in Georgia on Wednesday, has not brought up the cemetery visit on the campaign trail. She is expected to sit down for an interview with CNN on Thursday that will air later at night. On Wednesday, Harris campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler told CNN that the cemetery incident was “pretty sad” but “not surprising coming from the Trump team.” [Continue reading…]
Some veterans reacted with alarm to reports of an altercation between a member of Donald Trump’s entourage and a top official at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, with a retired Army general calling the incident “repugnant.”
Two sources told USA TODAY the incident occurred when a member of Trump’s team pushed his way into recording in a part of the cemetery, known as Section 60, where photography is prohibited.
Video from Section 60, where recently buried U.S. service members are interred, later appeared in a Trump campaign Tik Tok in which he criticizes President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival for the presidency.
“Donald Trump has no right to use our most hallowed ground for his political aims,” Fred Wellman, a 22-year Army combat veteran, said Wednesday. “For a lot of us, and I’m not the only one, people are aptly furious.” [Continue reading…]