The criticism against the former president escalated after an altercation between Trump's campaign team and an employee at the cemetery was reported.
Former US President Donald Trump has come under heavy criticism after his visit to the Arlington National Cemetery. The US Army, Vice President Kamala Harris and many others have spoken out against the visit and slammed Trump for using the graves of American troops for political gains and a photo op.
The criticism against the former president escalated after an altercation between Trump's campaign team and an employee at the cemetery was reported.
On August 26, Donald Trump visited the graves of American troops who died during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump and his team were joined by Gold Star families.
In a video posted by Trump's campaign, the former president was seen visiting the graves to honour 13 US military service members who were killed at Kabul Airport's Abbey gate in 2021.
The video showed Trump walking around the cemetery while criticising the Biden administration's "disaster" of a withdrawal. Images of Trump smiling and posing over the graves went viral on social media and the former president was criticised for the "political stunt".
Amid the backlash, Trump's team and the former president himself stated that he visited the cemetery on invitation from Abbey Gate Gold star families.
"President Trump was there on the invitation of the Abbey Gate Gold Star Families to honor their loved ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country," said campaign manager Chris LaCivita to CNN.
"Those families that asked me to be there. So I went. And while we were there, they said, Could you take pictures over the grave of my son, my sister, my brother? Would you take pictures with us, sir? I said, Absolutely, I did,” Trump said during a rally in Michigan.
However, amid the backlash, NPR was the first to report on the alleged altercation between an ANC employee and Trump's team.
As per NPR, a "verbal and physical altercation" took place during the cemetery visit. Citing sources, NPR stated that a cemetery official was pushed aside when they tried to prevent Trump's team from photographing and filming in the area.
Trump's campaign denied the allegation of a physical altercation but confirmed that on "unknown person decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony".
US Army Condemns Trump For Visit
Trump's visit was met by an unusual but strong rebuke from the US Army. Trump and his team were also accused of violating the law, which the team denied. However cemetery officials have stated that the campaign was told to avoid any political activity in 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,” said the Army spokesperson. (Section 60 referred to an area in the cemetery for graves of those troops 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 added further. The Department of Defence did not comment on the issue but stated that they "support what the Army said."
Vice President Kamala Harris also slammed Trump for disrespecting the "sacred ground" for political. The Democrat presidential candidate condemned her rival on X and said that Arlington is a "solemn place where we come together to honour American heroes" and it is "not a place for politics."