Vice President Kamala Harris recently criticized former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery with Gold Star families, accusing him of disrespecting the sacred ground in order to create a political stunt. The criticism stemmed from an incident in which Trump’s campaign staff clashed with a cemetery employee who tried to prevent them from filming and photographing a wreath-laying ceremony in Section 60, which is reserved for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Harris took to social media to denounce Trump’s actions, stating that the former president “disrespected sacred ground” for his own political gain. She also brought up past accusations that Trump had referred to fallen service members as “suckers” and “losers,” which he has consistently denied.
The US Army claimed that Trump campaign staff members had “abruptly pushed aside” a cemetery official who was attempting to enforce federal laws preventing political activities on cemetery grounds, such as the one being staged by Trump’s team. While there is no law against taking photographs during national ceremonies, these laws prohibit any campaign-related activities or content creation within Army National Military Cemeteries.
The Gold Star families of the 13 fallen soldiers killed during the withdrawal released a statement on Wednesday denying that they had violated Section 60 regulations and thanked Trump for “honoring our children and their fallen brothers and sisters.” Darin Hoover, the father of Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, one of the three fallen service members buried at Arlington National Cemetery, told The Post that it was not a campaign event and that they had personally invited Trump to attend.
The Trump campaign claimed that the cemetery employee who interfered was “suffering from a mental health episode” and denied any physical altercation as described by witnesses.
