2 members of #Trump's campaign staff had a verbal & physical altercation Monday w/an ofcl at #ArlingtonCemetery where Trump participated in a [performative] wreath laying ceremony.The cemetery ofcl tried to prevent Trump staffers from filming & photogr...
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Allison Jaslow, chief execof #Iraq & #Afghanistan #Veterans of America, said in a statement that #ArlingtonNationalCemetery is a hallowed place that should be off limits to partisan activity.
“Any aspiring elected official, especially one who hopes to be Commander in Chief, should not be confused about that fact,” Jaslow said. “Nor should they hide behind members of our community to justify politicking on such sacred ground.”#law #HaveSomeRespect #Traitor #criminal #disrespect
#HarrisWalz2024 -
#Army ofcls hoped clear rules would avoid a damaging public spat w/Trump.
He gave them one anyway. Earlier this month, #Trump’s campaign contacted #military ofcls about visiting #ArlingtonNationalCemetery…. Federal #law prohibits #election-related activities at #MilitaryCemeteries, & #Arlington is the most prestigious & sacred of all. #Pentagon ofcls were deeply concerned about Trump turning it into a #campaign stop,…acc/to #Defense ofcls & internal msgs reviewed by WaPo.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/28/trump-arlington-cemetery-section-60/ -
#DOD Ofcls said they wanted to respect the wishes of grieving family members who wanted #Trump there, but at the same time were wary of Trump’s record of #politicizing the #military. So they laid out ground rules they hoped would wall off #politics from the final resting place of those who paid the ultimate #sacrifice for their #nation. Instead, they got sucked into exactly the kind of crisis they were hoping to avoid.
#law #Traitor #criminal #disrespect #ServiceMembers
#HarrisWalz2024 -
A #ArlingtonNationalCemetery employee tried to enforce the rules as provided to her by blocking #Trump’s team from bringing cameras to the graves of US #ServiceMembers killed in recent years, acc/to a senior #Defense ofcl & another person briefed on the incident. A larger male campaign aide insisted the camera was allowed & pushed past the #cemetery employee, leaving her shocked.
[that the employee was a #woman is probably 1 reason Trump et al were such #disrespectful dicks]
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#Trump campaign spox #StevenCheung responded to the 1st report of the altercation, from NPR on Tues, by accusing, w/o evidence, the employee of “suffering from a mental health episode” [Im surprised he didn’t call the woman “hysterical” stereotypical #misogynistic crap]. #Defense ofcls said that the employee was trying to do her job & that the claim of a mental health episode was false.
#law #disrespect #military #ServiceMembers #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #misogyny #USpol
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On Wed #StevenCheung said the employee “initiated physical contact that was unwarranted & unnecessary.” [wrong - you were breaking the rules & the #law]
Cheung also said the #Trump #campaign would release footage to support his claim but has not. They did, however, post a TikTok of the event on Wed — exactly what #military ofcls tried to prevent. The use of the footage marked a flagrant violation of the #law against #partisan actions at #MilitaryCemeteries, #Defense said.
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@Nonilex I do hope some group makes a huge f**king deal about this. Claiming they were just filming “a solemn occasion” then releasing a campaign video is just slimy. And that’s besides the flat out violation of federal statute.
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[#Trump]…portrays himself as a champion of the #military, but #Democrats point to his public & private remarks denigrating #ServiceMembers.
“I just haven’t seen anything this disgusting. It is completely inappropriate to do any kind of #political activity on a federal installation, & it is #immoral …to conduct any kind of #SelfServing activity on a #cemetery w/the graves of our fallen,”said Paul Eaton, a ret #Army general & adviser to #VoteVets whose father’s remains are interred at #Arlington.
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#Defense ofcls were concerned about the event Mon because #Republicans have frequently used the…[Afghanistan exit], as a #political cudgel. In advance of the event, #cemetery ofcls told #Trump’s team that he could come in his PERSONAL CAPACITY & bring PERSONAL aides, but NOT #campaign staff. Campaign advisers went anyway.
No hats, signs or banners were allowed, acc/to #military ofcls. No speeches.#law #disrespect #ServiceMembers #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #USpol
#HarrisWalz2024 -
Reporters & photographers could follow #Trump for a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, but not to the 14-acre plot where #veterans from recent wars are buried, known as #Section60. The media was kept away, unable to see the altercation —or anything else, for that matter— during that part of his visit.
The 1st part went according to plan. W/full media coverage, Trump & 2 injured Marines…laid a wreath at the tomb…dedicated to deceased #US troops whose remains have not been ID’ed or recovered.
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The press then returned to a holding area, specifically instructed that reporters & cameras would not accompany #Trump & bereaved families to #Section60.
But Trump ofcls said they did not view the #campaign’s own photographer & videographer [who weren’t allowed to be anywhere there as campaign staff in the first place] as subject to the same restrictions, so they continued on to Section 60. Their arrival there prompted the standoff w/the #ArlingtonNationalCemetery employee over the rules.
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The incident has raised concerns about the #safety of #ArlingtonNationalCemetery staff members, the senior #Defense ofcl said, w/vitriol aimed at them initially on Monday by liberals, after the news coverage of #Trump at the #cemetery was published [really? I was immediately concerned for the staff & knew it was Trump et al being who they always are]. That has given way to language from #conservatives that also is “concerning.”
#law #disrespect #military #ServiceMembers #USpol
#HarrisWalz2024 -
“If the [#Trump] #campaign feels the need to defend their team’s actions — which include #bullying & physically pushing out of the way [#assault] a longtime #PublicServant & member of the team at #Arlington working to protect the sanctity of the sacred spaces — then that’s on them,” one #Defense ofcl said. “The rules were made clear to participants, & these two chose to disregard those rules. End of story.”
#law #disrespect #military #ServiceMembers #USpol
#HarrisWalz2024 -
…Co-campaign manager #ChrisLaCivita, who was present Monday along w/other #campaign employees, in a statement called the #cemetery employee “a despicable individual” who “does not deserve to represent the hollowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.” [mother f⁕︎er!!] LaCivita posted video on X on Mon of #Trump laying flowers at the grave of Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, a soldier killed in the explosion, & speaking to his family on the phone [video all taken in #Section60].
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In addition to the #campaign’s TikTok video, #Trump posed for photos on Monday at the graveside of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee w/her family [in #Section60], including 1 where he is giving a thumbs-up & others are smiling. Eaton called the gesture “appalling.”
The campaign also defended itself w/a joint statement from the 2 injured Marines who appeared w/Trump & the families of some of the #ServiceMembers killed, saying they wanted Trump & his cameras there [irrelevant & illegal]. -
…Other #veterans & bereaved families viewed #Trump’s visit as #disrespectful to a sacred space that also belongs to them & to the nation. #Section60 is a place where young widows can be seem trimming grass w/hand scissors, sharing comfort w/other #GoldStarFamilies, & decorating graves w/flowers & beads. Visitors have long taken graveside photographs there, & sitting presidents have visited before, but not as part of #campaign events.
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“That’s not the time or place for it,” said Karen Meredith, a #VoteVets board member whose son, 1st Lt. Ken Ballard, is buried in the second row of #Section60. “They had to #bully themselves into this thing. The lack of #respect for the rules or the norms or the #laws at #Arlington — there’s just no respect.”
#law #disrespect #military #ServiceMembers #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #USpol
#HarrisWalz2024 -
#Trump’s running mate, Sen #JDVance, turned the incident into a #political attack during a #campaign speech in Erie, PA, on Wednesday. “We’re going to talk about a story out of those 13 brave, innocent Americans who lost their lives,” he said. He then falsely accused #Harris of criticizing Trump’s visit to the #cemetery, which she hasn’t commented on. A Harris campaign spox called it “pretty sad.”
#law #disrespect #military #ServiceMembers #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #USpol
#HarrisWalz2024 -
Here is the photo @Nonilex it referring to of the grinning Trump in Section 60.
It reminded me. Of Trump’s thumbs up and smile at an El Paso hospital following a mass shooting. Melania is holding the baby whose parents were murdered in a mass shooting. -
#Trump has repeatedly defied restrictions [#law] on using #federal property for #campaign purposes by staging a #political speech at #MountRushmore, participating in a television interview inside the #LincolnMemorial, & holding [some of] the 2020 #RepublicanNationalConvention at the #WhiteHouse itself. As president, he pushed unsuccessfully for a *European-style* [nazi-esque] #military parade down Pennsylvania Ave.
#disrespect #Arlington #USpol
#HarrisWalz2024
https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-election-2020-ap-top-news-republican-national-convention-politics-54b27b22c8d4d5472f7ccfaeb0bb87ea