Donald Trump has already made several derogatory comments about fallen US soldiers. An incident is said to have occurred during a visit to the famous Arlington Cemetery.
A visit by former US President Donald Trump to Arlington National Cemetery has sparked a new debate about his respect for veterans. Trump on Monday commemorated the US soldiers who died in a suicide attack in Afghanistan three years ago. During his visit, however, an altercation broke out between Trump’s team and cemetery staff, prompting critics to accuse Trump of using his visit for election purposes. Trump’s campaign denied these allegations.
The US broadcasting organization NPR reported that two Trump employees insulted and pushed aside a cemetery employee during the visit when he tried to prevent filming and photography in a certain part of the grounds.
Complaint against the Trump team
When asked, the National Cemetery said: “We can confirm that there was an incident and that a report has been filed.” In order to protect the identity of the person concerned, no further information is currently being provided. The cemetery stressed that election-related activities are prohibited in the cemetery by law.
A Trump spokesman wrote on Platform X that a photographer had been allowed. In a statement to NPR, he further explained that the cemetery worker had probably suffered from “a mental disorder” and had physically blocked members of the Trump team.
Donald Trump denies allegations
Trump’s campaign team also published a statement on X from relatives of the soldiers killed in Afghanistan, who thanked the Republican for his visit. They had agreed to the participation of a photographer and the behavior of Trump and his team had been characterized by the utmost respect.
Trump later posted a video clip of the visit on social media in which he once again criticized the Afghanistan withdrawal under the administration of Democrat Joe Biden as a disaster. A liberal veterans organization close to the Democrats sharply criticized this and complained that Trump only cares about killed soldiers if he can exploit it to his own advantage. There was criticism from others as well.
Trump has often made derogatory comments about soldiers and veterans in the past. Just a few days ago, he joked during an appearance that the highest civilian award in the country was much better than the highest military award – because its recipients are “either in very bad shape because they have been hit by bullets so many times, or they are dead.”
