At a recent campaign event, Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance stated that Vice President Kamala Harris “can go to hell,” after he was questioned about disgraced former President Donald Trump violated federal law prohibits election-related activities at military cemeteries.
Trump’s aides engaged in a “verbal and physical altercation” with officials while the candidate was visiting Arlington National Cemetery to mark the third anniversary of the Islamic State bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the evacuation from Afghanistan. A U.S. defense official said the Trump campaign was told repeatedly that it could not capture photos and video in Section 60, the final resting place of many recent fatalities.
The escalating personal attacks that Trump’s campaign has directed at the Democratic presidential nominee seem to be useless.
A reporter at the campaign event asked Vance about the altercation involving Trump campaign staff at Arlington National Cemetery, which the former president visited Monday to mark the third anniversary of the Islamic State bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the evacuation from Afghanistan.
Democrats and several veterans’ groups have been critical Trump’s record after the altercation between an Arlington National Cemetery staffer and members of the Republican campaign earlier this week, the latest example of the draft-dodging former president’s lack of respect for the military and those killed in war.
Federal law prohibits election-related activities at military cemeteries and a cemetery employee tried to enforce the rules as provided to her by blocking Trump’s team from bringing cameras to the graves of U.S. service members killed in recent years, according to a senior defense official and another person briefed on the incident.
A larger male campaign aide insisted the camera was allowed and pushed past the cemetery employee.
At a campaign stop in Erie, Pa., on Wednesday Vance accused the press of “creating a story where I really don’t think that there is one.”
He said the family members of fallen service members in attendance “invited [Trump] to be there and to support them.”
The Ohio senator, a military veteran, then used the question to tie the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal to the Democratic presidential candidate and falsely asserted, “that Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won’t even do an investigation into what happened,” although there have been extensive federal investigations into the Abbey Gate bombing.
An Army investigative report, numbering 2,000 pages, details the life-or-death decisions made daily by U.S. soldiers and Marines sent to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands converged on the airfield in a frantic bid to escape. That investigation was launched in response to an Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing just outside the airport that killed an estimated 170 Afghan civilians and 13 U.S. service members.
Vance accused Harris of criticizing Trump’s visit to the cemetery, saying: “And she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up? She can — she can go to hell.”
“Arlington National Cemetery isn’t a place for campaign photo-ops. It’s a sacred resting place for American patriots,” said Rep. Mikie Sherrill a former Navy helicopter pilot. “But for Donald Trump, disrespecting military veterans is just par for the course. It’s an absolute disgrace.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly called for the release of information and videos related to the incident, saying it was “sad but all too expected that Donald Trump would desecrate this hallowed ground and put campaign politics ahead of honoring our heroes.”
Rep. Jared Golden, a former Marine, said Arlington is “sacred ground and all visitors should take the time to learn the rules of decorum that ensure the proper respect is given to the fallen and their families,” as reported by Axios.
An Army spokesperson confirmed Thursday that a cemetery employee was “abruptly pushed aside” while trying to enforce a political activity ban that prohibits campaign photography at the cemetery.
Trump was visiting to commemorate the third anniversary of the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, which killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 150 Afghan citizens.
Trump surrendered Afghanistan to the Taliban in February 2020, but he has sought to blame President Joe Biden for the evacuation of US troops from the war-ravaged nation.
Trump insists he was there at the invitation of families of those killed in the attack and his campaign claims it was granted permission to have its photographer in the heavily restricted area of the cemetery, meant for those killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
But filming or photographing the gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery for political purposes is banned because it is a violation of federal law, according to cemetery officials.
The US Army sternly admonished Trump’s campaign over the incident, in a rare rebuke from a military service loath to get in the middle of highly political issues.
“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,” the Army spokesperson said in the statement on Thursday. Section 60 is an area in the cemetery largely reserved for the graves of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption,” the statement said. “The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed.“
“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 said.
Trump has previously come under fire for several instances of disparaging those who have served.