Trump Staffers Had Physical Altercation With Arlington National Cemetery Official
Trump Staffers Had Physical Altercation With Arlington National Cemetery Official
Trump honored service people who made the ultimate sacrifice in that 20 year (2001-2021) $2.3 trillion war that the USA lost 3 years ago to The Taliban in Afghanistan
Trump Staffers Reportedly Had Physical Altercation With Arlington National Cemetery Official
Trump was there to honor service people who made the ultimate sacrifice in that 20 year (2001-2021) $2.3 trillion war that the USA lost 3 years ago to The Taliban in Afghanistan
Forbes Staff
Siladitya Ray is a New Delhi-based Forbes news team press reporter
Aug 28, 2024,12:15am EDT
Updated Aug 28, 2024, 06:31am EDT
TOPLINE
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign staffers had an altercation with an Arlington National Cemetery official on Monday, according to multiple reports, as the Republican presidential nominee attended a wreath-laying ceremony for service members killed in Afghanistan.
KEY FACTS
The incident was first reported by NPR, citing an unnamed source, who said the official tried to stop the former president’s staff from filming and photographing in a part of the cemetery where “recent U.S. casualties are buried.”
In response, two Trump campaign staffers “verbally abused and pushed” the official in question, NPR reported.
Arlington National Cemetery confirmed an “incident” had occurred during Trump’s visit on Monday and a “report was filed,” but no additional details were given.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung dismissed the NPR report and said there was no physical altercation, adding “we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made.”
Cheung also claimed, without additional details, that “an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump's team.”
In a post on X, Cheung wrote “We were granted access to have a photographer there.”
CRUCIAL QUOTE
Arlington National Cemetery said in a statement to the press: “Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate's campaign.”
TANGENT
While Trump himself has not directly commented on the report, his Truth Social account posted a statement from the families of two of the soldiers whose wreath-laying ceremony he participated in, Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee and Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover. In the statement, the family members thanked Trump for his presence at the gathering and said: “The president and his team conducted themselves with nothing but the utmost respect and dignity for all of our service members.” The families’ statement also added that they had given their approval for Trump’s official videographer and photographer to attend the event.
KEY BACKGROUND
On Monday, Trump visited the cemetery to take part in a wreath-laying ceremony honoring military service members killed during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. During the evacuation, a suicide bombing attack at the Kabul airport resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghan civilians. After the wreath-laying ceremony, Trump spoke at an event in Detroit and blamed Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for the chaotic withdrawal, saying “the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world.” The Biden administration's 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan followed a timeline the preceding Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban in 2020. A State Department review of the withdrawal published last year blamed decisions made by both the Biden and Trump administrations.
FURTHER READING
Trump campaign staff had altercation with official at Arlington National Cemetery (NPR)