Vice President Kamala Harris said former President Donald Trump ‘disrespected sacred ground’ in his recent speech appearance at Arlington National Cemeterywhere the Republican candidate took and distributed photos despite a federal ban on campaign activities on the grounds.
Harris, in a proposition posted on social media platform X on Saturday, reporting that Trump campaign staff had gotten into an altercation with a cemetery employee and then took photos and filmed the former president, including at the graves of Afghanistan veterans, after being warned about the site’s rules.
“Let me be clear: The former president disrespected sacred ground, all for a political stunt,” said Harris, calling Arlington a “solemn place where we gather to honor American heroes … not a place for politics.”
The original incident stemmed from Trump and Republicans’ continued criticism of President Joe Biden and now Harris for the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. At the invitation of several family members of service members killed during the withdrawal, Trump laid wreaths Monday in honor of Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss. They were among the 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans killed in a bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021.
Trump’s campaign was warned not to take photos of an altercation at the cemetery, according to defense officials. Officials have since said that an Arlington employee who was allegedly “verbally abused and shoved aside” by two Trump campaign staffers has refused to press charges. The Trump campaign has since lashed out at Pentagon officials, with a top campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, calling military spokespeople “hacks.” Trump campaign officials say they had permission to bring someone along to take videos.
Since Biden ended his reelection bid, Trump has focused on Harris and her role in foreign policy decisions. He has specifically highlighted the vice president’s statements that she was the last person in the room before Biden made the decision on Afghanistan.
Biden’s administration was after a withdrawal commitment and the timeline the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban in 2020. A 2022 investigation by a government-appointed special investigator concluded that decisions by both Trump and Biden were key factors leading to the rapid collapse of the Afghan military and the Taliban takeover.
Harris on Saturday pointed to Trump’s history of picking fights with veterans and repeated accusations that he has “called our fallen service members ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’ and denigrated Medal of Honor recipients.”
“This is a man who can understand nothing but service to himself,” Harris said. “I will always honor the service and sacrifice of all of America’s fallen heroes. … And I will never politicize them.”
