Kamala Harris, the Vice-President of the United States, issued a statement on Saturday. She denounced the actions of ex-president Donald Trump, accusing him of disregarding the seat of honour that Arlington National Cemetery holds. Reports have surfaced suggesting that Mr. Trump breached federal rules that forbid political activities on the cemetery grounds, including the distribution of images.
The events escalated into a conflict with cemetery staff, who were concerned about Mr. Trump’s campaign personnel filming and clicking pictures of the ex-president, despite explicit warnings about site regulations. This included images at the graves of Afghanistan war veterans.
Kamala Harris communicated starkly that the particular actions of the ex-president disregard the sanctity of the cemetery. She emphasised that Arlington should be a place for honouring American heroes, not a venue for political drama.
The incident draws from an ongoing critique by Mr. Trump and Republicans of the disorderly withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, concerning President Joe Biden and Vice-President Harris.
On receiving an invite from the relatives of military personnel killed during the withdrawal, Mr. Trump showed reverence to Sgnt Nicole Gee, Staff Sgnt Ryan Knauss, and Staff Sgnt Darin Hoover by laying wreaths. They were among the casualties in the bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport on the 26th of August, 2021, causing the death of 13 US service members and over 100 Afghans.
Defence officials have stressed that Mr. Trump’s campaign was warned about refraining from taking pictures before the disagreement at the cemetery occurred. It has been stated that campaign staff members reportedly “verbally harassed and physically confronted” an Arlington employee, who decided not to pursue legal action.
Following the incident, the Trump campaign sharply criticized Pentagon officials, with campaign advisor Chris LaCivita dismissing military spokespeople as “hacks”. The campaign claims they had permission to have someone on site recording footage.
Since ceasing his campaign for re-election, Mr Biden has attracted the attention of his Democratic opponent, Ms Harris, particularly surrounding her influence in foreign policy decisions. Specifically, Ms Harris’s claims that she was the final person present prior to Mr Biden’s resolution on Afghanistan has drawn particular scrutiny from Mr Trump.
The course of action for Afghanistan pursued by Mr Biden’s administration was simply following through on the departure plan and timeframe previously negotiated by Mr Trump’s administration with the Taliban in 2020.
A governmental review, carried out in 2022 by a specifically-appointed special investigator, concluded that both Trump and Biden’s decisions were instrumental in bringing about the swift dissolution of Afghanistan’s military and the ensuing ascendancy of Taliban rule.
On the recent Saturday, Ms Harris made reference to Mr Trump’s well-documented past of confronting veterans, and reiterated claims that he belittled fallen service members by labelling them as ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’, as well as besmirching Medal of Honor recipients.
In strong words, Ms Harris remarked, “This gentleman is incapable of understanding anything beyond self-serving acts.” Her own commitment, she assured, was to always recognise the service and sacrifice of all of America’s heroes who have given their lives, and she pledged never to politicise them.