Former president Donald Trump denied reports of an altercation between his campaign staff and staff at Arlington National Cemetery, calling it a “made up story” to cover up the Biden-Harris administration’s record in Afghanistan.
NPR was first to report that two members of Trump’s campaign “had a verbal and physical altercation … with an official at Arlington National Cemetery” as the former president attended a wreath-laying ceremony for 13 U.S. service members killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal.
“There was no conflict or ‘fighting’ at Arlington National Cemetery last week. It was a made up story by Comrade Kamala and her misinformation squad,” Trump posted on social media on Tuesday. “She made it all up to make up for the fact that she and Sleepy Joe have BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS for the INCOMPETENT AFGHANISTAN Withdrawal – THE MOST EMBARRASSING DAY IN U.S. HISTORY!!!”
“They should have been at Arlington, not on a beach or studying for a Debate. Thank you to my friends, the GREAT GOLD STAR FAMILIES, for revealing the TRUTH OF A BEAUTIFUL DAY OF HONOR. Could not have been a nicer moment-And there were no fights or problems, only in the heads of those that are destroying our Country!” he continued.
The NPR report quoted an anonymous source stating that the altercation happened after a “cemetery official tried to prevent Trump staffers from filming and photographing in a section where recent U.S. casualties are buried,” citing cemetery rules.
Trump campaign contested the story. “The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told NPR in a statement.
The White House has denied that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were invited to the event at Arlington National Cemetery. Kelly Barnett, Gold Star mother of Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, who died during the withdrawal, said Tuesday that Biden and Harris were invited to the event multiple times, but refused to show.
“I didn’t invite her personally or him personally. Governor Cox of Utah sent [Biden] a letter, letting him know the celebration that we were having, the ceremony that we were having, [and] told him that it would be good for him to be there,” Barnett said on Fox News.
“Also, Arlington Cemetery let them know of the ceremony, so they … went without any kind of response from either one. So, they were aware of the ceremony. They knew that it would be in their best interest to be there, and they refused to attend,” she added.
