Trump’s disgraceful and disgusting violation of Arlington National Cemetery for pure political propaganda (you can find a link to the TikTok video he made in this article‘cuz I’m not linking to it) was an offense against common courtesy, ordinary decency, and simple humanity — as well as being against the law. It may also turn out to have been politically stupid.
USA Today 'Furious': Veterans slam Trump team's altercation at Arlington National Cemetery
Some veterans reacted with alarm to reports of an altercation between a member of Donald Trump's entourage and a top official at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, with a retired Army general calling the incident "repugnant." . . .
"Donald Trump has no right to use our most hallowed ground for his political aims," Fred Wellman, a 22-year Army combat veteran, said Wednesday. "For a lot of us, and I'm not the only one, people are aptly furious."
Daily Beast: Veterans Groups Condemn Trump’s Arlington National Cemetery Photo Op
The visit has since drawn widespread criticism from across the political spectrum, including several veterans groups.
“Trump only cares about the fallen when he can exploit their sacrifice for his own gain,” the progressive organization VoteVets said on Wednesday in a statement on social media. “To him, they’re just ‘suckers and losers.’ He’s proven time and again that respect and honor mean nothing to him.”
Former Rep. Max Rose (D-NY), who serves as an advisor for the group, also condemned the events as “sick and tragic.”
Retired Maj. General Paul Eaton, another VoteVets advisor, told USA Today he “truly cannot think of something more repugnant than starting a political fracas on land where Gold Star families mourn. Someone who would do that should never be Commander in Chief.” . . .
Veterans for Responsible Leadership, a non-partisan veterans’ organization, accused the former president of violating both the “sanctity of Arlington” as well as the “code of conduct for national military cemeteries.”
WaPo: How a Trump visit sparked turmoil at America’s most sacred cemetery
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung . . . said the campaign would release footage to support his claim but has not. The campaign did, however, post a TikTok of the event on Wednesday — exactly what military officials tried to prevent. The use of the footage marked a flagrant violation of the law against partisan actions at military cemeteries, defense officials said. . . .
“I just haven’t seen anything this disgusting,” said Paul Eaton, a retired Army general and adviser to the liberal group VoteVets whose father’s remains are interred at Arlington. “It is completely inappropriate to do any kind of political activity on a federal installation, and it is immoral in my terms to conduct any kind of self-serving activity on a cemetery with the graves of our fallen.”
CNN: Trump campaign faces backlash over Arlington Cemetery incident (video)
Rolling Stone: Veterans Condemn Trump’s Arlington National Cemetery Campaign Stunt
The incident is drawing widespread condemnation, particularly because Trump’s campaign did in fact use content filmed at the cemetery in a video posted to his official TikTok account and on other social media platforms.
VoteVets, a progressive veterans non-profit, condemned the stunt.
And even Trump’s former defense secretary (one of several) spoke out:
Trump’s former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper called for an investigation into the altercation between Trump’s cohort and cemetery staff. “I think the bottom line is that no person or party on either side should ever use Arlington National Cemetery — or any of our cemeteries or battlefields — for partisan political purposes,” he said.
Newsweek: Trump's Arlington Cemetery Visit Ripped by Navy Vet: 'Treasonous Traitor'
Also Newsweek: Donald Trump Criticized by Arlington Cemetery 'Old Guard' Veteran
NYT: Trump Videos at Arlington Stir More Fallout After Gravesite Visit
The family of a Green Beret buried there expressed concern about videos and photos taken by his grave. And a cemetery employee declined to press charges after an altercation with the Trump team, fearing retribution. . . .
Several Army officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential aspects of the matter, on Wednesday sought to keep the politically charged issue from escalating. But at the same time, they defended the cemetery official and pushed back on attacks from the Trump campaign, with one official saying that the woman at the cemetery was just trying to do her job.
Trump (and Vance) have managed to piss off women, to piss off Blacks, Hispanics, non-fundamentalist Christians, and now (and not for the first time in recent weeks) veterans. At this rate, he will be lucky if he gets 100 electoral votes in November. Well, the country will be lucky.
When I was in Manila with the Foreign Service, one of the volunteer jobs my wife and I did was to plant flags at the military cemetery there for Memorial Day. Many of us from the Embassy took this on; it was a sacred obligation. While I never served in the military (being hard of hearing since birth was a permanent disqualification), I have the utmost personal and professional respect for people who served, and especially for those who gave the last full measure to preserve our nation and our way of life. So add my name to the growing list of those who found this latest stunt utterly and vilely offensive.