NEW YORK (AP) — The reported altercation at Arlington National Cemetery involving Donald Trump’s staff was far from the first time veterans or military families have criticized the former president for words or behavior they perceived as derogatory.
Since his first run for the White House, Trump has taken on the military and veterans like no other major US politician, dating back to 2015 when he disregarded the military career of the tardy Senator John McCain because he had been a prisoner of war. Trump’s allies argue that he supports the military but reserves the right to take action against his critics.
“I think if you want to know how Donald Trump values and honors those who have served, and particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, you can just talk to those families. They are much better placed to judge this issue than anyone who holds a grudge against Donald Trump,” Ohio Senator JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential nominee, said on Monday.
Monday’s incident at Arlington National Cemetery occurred as the former president was visiting the graves of some of the 13 U.S. soldiers killed in the Kabul bombing during the 2021 U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. The Army says a cemetery official was “pushed aside” by Trump campaign aides as they tried to stop them from filming and taking photographs in Section 60, the burial site for service members killed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Trump campaign later posted footage of the visit on its social media accounts. The family of a decorated Green Beret whose grave is perceptible in the photos issued a statement expressing support for those who lost loved ones in Kabul, but asked for understanding for the concerns of families of soldiers whose graves were near them.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this article, but denied allegations that a campaign staffer shoved a cemetery official.
Jon Stoltz, a U.S. Army veteran and co-founder of the veterans advocacy group VoteVets, which supports Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy, said Trump was trying to utilize a sacred site “for a political ceremony.”
“You have no right to do that to other veterans there,” Stoltz said.
The incident in Arlington occurred less than two weeks after Trump came under criticism for his comments on the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military award for members of the armed forces.
Trump praised billionaire Republican donor Miriam Adelson, whom he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor, saying she fared “much better” than when she received the Congressional Medal of Honor, since recipients of that award are often seriously injured or dead.
Although the Veterans of Foreign Wars admonished Trump, calling his comments “reckless” and “idiotic,” he repeated a version of that remark on Thursday at a campaign rally in Michigan, saying he would “rather” get the Medal of Freedom because Medal of Honor recipients “often suffered a lot, didn’t they? Either they suffered a lot or they’re not here anymore.”
Earlier this year, then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley condemned Trump for questioning her husband’s whereabouts while he was deployed overseas on a National Guard mission.
His former chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired general, claimed that Trump called Americans killed in World War I “suckers” and “losers.” Trump has denied that accusation.
In the past, Trump has had powerful support among veterans, who tend to be reliable voters who favor Republicans.
AP VoteCast found that about 6 in 10 military veterans said they voted for Trump in the 2020 election, as did just over half of those who have a veteran in the household. About 60% of veteran voters in the 2020 election identified themselves as Republicans, and about half — 47% — considered themselves conservative.
A validated Pew Research Center voter survey found that a similar share of veterans supported Trump in 2016. And among voters in this year’s South Carolina Republican primary, AP VoteCast found that nearly two-thirds of military veterans and people in veteran households voted for Trump over Haley.
Trump argues that he protected his troops by working to end foreign wars, such as the two-decade conflict in Afghanistan, and he has also claimed credit – wrongly – for passing a private health care program called Veterans Choice, originally introduced during former President Barack Obama’s administration.
Neither Trump nor Harris served in the military. Trump received a number of deferments during the Vietnam War, including one based on a doctor’s note stating that he had bone spurs in his feet.
Both parties have courted veterans. They have created coalitions of veterans and are supported by outside groups that work on veterans’ issues. And both have selected veterans as their running mate.
Vance joined the Marine Corps after graduating from high school, served for four years as a combat correspondent – a type of military journalist – and was deployed to Iraq in that capacity in 2005.
Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Harris’ running mate, served a total of 24 years in various Army National Guard units and positions. However, the circumstances of his retirement before his unit’s deployment and several of his comments about his service drew criticism from Republicans – particularly Vance – and prompted the Harris campaign to provide clarifications. The campaign has also highlighted Walz’s service as the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee during his time in Congress.
Stoltz, co-founder of VoteVets, said Trump’s standing with veterans could be damaged by the former president’s repeated insults, but he believes it has a broad impact on voters because Trump’s comments and actions could be perceived as an affront to that community.
“I know there are veterans who support Trump,” he said. “He just turned people against him.”
On its website, VoteVets offers a range of pro-Harris-Walz items, including camouflage signs for the garden. Stoltz said the group has sold 10,000 of them in the last few weeks.
“People are starting to see the military as just another thing that Trump wants to use for his own benefit,” Stoltz said.
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Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina. Associated Press reporters Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.
