US Army Should Release Report on Trump Incident at Arlington Cemetery

Last week, Donald Trump and his campaign team created a disgraceful incident at Arlington National Cemetery, of all places. The former and likely future US president ignored the rules that apply to him and everyone else.

Federal law prohibits campaign activities at military cemeteries to ensure that the graves of men and women who died or were wounded in combat remain sacred sites. The Defense Department says the Trump campaign was previously informed of Arlington’s even more specific rules, which prohibit taking photos or recording videos near the graves of soldiers killed in recent years, an area known as Section 60 that is often visited by grieving families.

In an attempt to enforce the Code of Federal Regulations, a female cemetery official asked someone described as a large male campaign employee not to bring cameras to a graveside event hosted by Gold Star families. Instead, the employee was physically pushed aside. The U.S. Army said in a statement: “An ANC employee who attempted to ensure compliance with these rules was abruptly pushed aside. In keeping with the sense of decorum expected at the ANC, this employee acted professionally and avoided further disruption.” The Trump campaign infamously claimed that the official had a “mental episode” and was a “despicable individual”; Trump’s campaign manager called the Army employees “hackers.”

Trump attended a wreath-laying ceremony for 13 U.S. troops killed in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s Abbey Gate airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago. He was there to cast a swipe at the Biden administration, which oversaw a withdrawal that Trump promised but never delivered. He accompanied the families to Section 60 after the event.

Media members covering the campaign were familiar with the rules, so there is no independent footage of what happened. The Trump campaign said it would release its own video as evidence that the cemetery official made a mistake; no such video was released. The official who was pushed out declined to press charges. Her superiors later said they feared retaliation from Trump supporters if her name were released.

The case should have ended with the Trump campaign apologizing for what happened. But on Tuesday, as criticism of the crash grew, Trump dug himself an even deeper hole. In a social media post, the Republican candidate claimed the incident never happened and was made up by his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. That’s simply not true.

The altercation was confirmed by both Arlington National Cemetery officials and the U.S. Army. Authorities, unfortunately, consider the matter “closed” and will not release the incident report filed by the cemetery official. Trump says that because the official does not want to go public, the incident never happened.

The Army should release a report of the incident. This episode cannot be easily dismissed as a campaign buddy. When choosing the next commander-in-chief, voters need to know whether the candidates fully understand the idea of ​​the nation above themselves.