The political battle over the 2024 election intensified as Vice President Kamala Harris accused former President Donald Trump of disrespecting service members by filming a video at Arlington National Cemetery. The incident stems from a wreath-laying ceremony at the cemetery honoring service members killed by ISIS-K terrorists during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
According to an Army spokesperson, an Arlington National Cemetery official was “abruptly pushed aside” while interacting with Trump’s staff during the Monday ceremony. The Army stated the employee was ensuring Trump’s team was “made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.”
Trump, however, claimed he took photographs with families of service members at their request. During a speech in Pennsylvania, he criticized President Biden, blaming him for the deaths in Afghanistan and accusing the administration of using the graves for public relations purposes.
Harris, in a statement posted on Facebook, slammed Trump’s actions, calling them a “political stunt” and accusing him of disrespecting “sacred ground.” She further stated that Trump’s actions were “nothing new,” citing previous instances where he had allegedly disparaged service members.
Harris’s statement triggered a response from Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance. Vance argued that Trump was invited to the cemetery by families of fallen soldiers and directed his criticism towards Harris, suggesting she focus on the deaths in Afghanistan which he blames on the Biden administration.
Karoline Leavitt, a former Trump administration official, joined the criticism, highlighting Harris’s role in the Afghanistan withdrawal and accusing her of neglecting the families of the 13 service members killed in the chaotic evacuation. Leavitt concluded that Harris’s actions make her “dangerously incompetent” to be Commander-in-Chief.
The escalating rhetoric highlights the intense political rivalry ahead of the 2024 election, with both sides leveraging the issue of national security and the Afghanistan withdrawal to attack their opponents. This incident will likely continue to fuel the political firestorm surrounding the upcoming presidential race.
