Donald Trump’s Arlington cemetery controversy explained

The fallout from Donald Trump’s controversial visit to Arlington National Cemetary continues as Democrats seize on testimony from the staff of the military burial grounds. The Trump campaign argued that the families of soldiers who died during the US withdraw from Afghanistan to Arlington to commemorate the anniversaries of the deaths of their loved ones. Donald Trump has made the chaotic withdrawal, based on a deal he reached with the Taliban, a center point of his campaign. In classic Trump fashion, the former president argues a counterfactual: if he were to have been in charge, the withdrawal would have gone much better. Though such an argument cannot be proved, some of his base see his word as enough evidence to believe it to be true.

What happened at Arlington National Cemetary?

The former president was invited to commemorate the third anniversary of the deaths of thirteen service members who died at Abbey Gate in Kabul during the withdrawal when a bomb was detonated. The bombing, which took place at Kabul’s airport in August 2021, also led to the deaths of 170 Afghan civilians. The attack was carried out by ISIS-K, which is actually an enemy of the Taliban, that used the chaos of the withdrawal to strike and undermine security as the US-backed regime fled and the Taliban took power.

When Donald Trump arrived with a photographer from his campaign to Arlington National Cemetary, a confrontation with a cemetery staff member reportedly took place. Political campaigns are not allowed to film promotional material from the location, a rule that some staff felt violated by the presidential candidate’s visit. Leaders from the Trump team argued that the cameraman was invited by the family of late Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover, and photos of the former president and the family were later released. The Army reported that one of the cemetery staff attempted to block access to the site and was “pushed aside.”

A family of a soldier whose grave appeared in the videos and photos released a statement about the incident, noting the importance of abiding by the cemetery’s rules.

The Trump campaign, including his running mate, J.D. Vance, said that the media had hyperfocused on a non-story to attack Donald Trump and told a rally audience that Vice President Kamala Harris could “go to hell” for highlighting the event as well. However, at the time of the Ohio senator’s rant, the vice president had not publicly commented about the incident. After Senator Vance made his comments, the Democratic nominee did make her opinion heard, labeling the former president’s actions as a “political stunt” and stating clearly that from her vantage point, he “disrespected sacred ground.”

The Army considers the manner closed

However, the details of the altercation between the Trump campaign and cemetery officials remain unclear. Early reports stated that a physical altercation had broken out, which the campaign downplayed. The Army official who had attempted to block the campaign staff from entering was reportedly “pushed aside,” though she has opted not to press charges. During a Department of Defense late last week, Spokesperson Sabrina Singh said that the Army had considered the matter closed and that no further actions would be taken.