Former President Donald Trump’s campaign faced criticism this week during his visit to Arlington National Cemetery, which aimed to commemorate the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
According to two campaign officials, an individual physically stopped Trump’s team from accompanying him during the visit on Monday. A spokesperson for the cemetery confirmed that “there was an incident” and that “a report was filed,” but did not give further details.
Trump laid a wreath at the cemetery to honor 13 U.S. service members who died at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate. The campaign shared a video on TikTok marking the third anniversary of the tragic event.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump seemed to imply the incident was related to his campaign’s use of photography, sharing a statement from family members of the deceased soldiers who expressed their support. They stated, “We had given our approval for President Trump’s official videographer and photographer to attend the event, ensuring these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured.”
However, a statement from Arlington National Cemetery indicated that federal law prohibits political activities within Army National Military Cemeteries. The cemetery noted that it had communicated the law and its restrictions to all attendees, including photographers and content creators supporting any political candidate.
Trump’s remarks followed an NPR report detailing a “verbal and physical altercation.” A source informed NPR that a cemetery official tried to stop Trump’s team from filming near the grave sites of recent casualties, leading to claims that Trump staff “verbally abused and pushed the official aside.”
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung denied the allegations of physical conflict, stating an unnamed individual decided to “physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” and suggested that the campaign has video evidence to support their claims.
Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita echoed this sentiment, saying the visit was at the invitation of the Abbey Gate Gold Star Families and criticized the intervention as disgraceful. He added, “Whoever this individual is spreading these lies is dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces.”
Senator JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, downplayed the incident, calling it a “little disagreement” and emphasized that the families invited Trump to honor them.
Virginia Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly urged Arlington Cemetery leadership to release details of the incident, questioning Trump’s motives and condemning his team’s conduct as “abhorrent and shameful.” He called for transparency to ensure that the sanctity of the grounds where the nation’s heroes are interred is protected.