What happened
Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance criticized the media yesterday for making a "national news story" out of the Trump campaign's "little disagreement" with Arlington National Cemetery staff earlier this week. Vance also said Vice President Kamala Harris "can go to hell" for criticizing "Donald Trump because he showed up" at the cemetery to commemorate the 2021 terrorist attack in Kabul that killed 13 U.S. service members as America withdrew from Afghanistan. Harris, campaigning in rural Georgia, had not mentioned the Arlington incident, though Trump faced ire from some veterans for campaigning among gravestones.
Who said what
Trump's team was told beforehand he could visit Section 60 of the cemetery, where Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are buried, in a personal capacity but with no campaign aides, as federal law prohibits election-related activity military cemeteries, The Washington Post said. Trump's team said it would release footage to refute reports that campaign staff pushed aside an Arlington official who tried to enforce the rules. It hasn't done so, the Post said, but the campaign did "post a TikTok of the event on Wednesday — exactly what military officials tried to prevent."
The family of a Green Beret whose gravestone is visible in the campaign video and a photo of a smiling Trump "giving a 'thumbs up'" to the camera "expressed concern" about Trump's lack of decorum at the "sacred site," The New York Times said. Trump released statements from a Gold Star family saying they had invited him to the grave and welcomed the photos. But it's hard to see Trump's visit as "anything but a campaign stop intended to court the military vote" and "clean up the mess he has created" by repeatedly "denigrating" military service, Charles Sykes said at The Atlantic.
What next?
The unidentified Arlington official involved in the altercation filed an incident report with military authorities but "declined to press charges," the Times said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 artfully drawn cartoons about Donald Trump's Epstein doodleCartoons Artists take on a mountainous legacy, creepy art, and more
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorshipTalking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Nadine Menendez gets 4.5 years in bribery caseSpeed Read Menendez's husband was previously sentenced to 11 years in prison
-
Koreans detained in US Hyundai raid return homeSpeed Read Over 300 Koreans were detained at the plant last week
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for coup attemptSpeed Read Bolsonaro was convicted of attempting to stay in power following his 2022 election loss
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killingTALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
-
Why does Donald Trump keep showing up at major sporting events?Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events
-
‘Democracy is under threat globally’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Former top FBI agents sue, claiming Trump purgeSpeed Read The agents alleged they were targeted by a “campaign of retribution”
-
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk shot dead at 31Speed Read Kirk was holding a debate session at Utah Valley University
