What actually happened when Trump recently visited Arlington National Cemetery? Ben Kesling explains at Politico:
The debate around Donald Trump’s recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery has been confusing to many Americans. What’s the big deal with taking photos in a cemetery? Didn’t Trump have a right to pay a visit, especially accompanied by the family of someone buried there?
In this case there’s confusion over not only what happened, but what norms were upended.
A quick recap: Trump and his team were invited to take part in a wreath-laying ceremony by families of troops killed in the last days of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. His team included people who took photos and filmed at the cemetery in ways that violated Army regulations and federal law, including using the cemetery for political purposes. When an Arlington staffer tried to intervene, members of Trump’s team reportedly pushed the staffer aside and continued to photograph.
In the aftermath, Trump’s team released political material using the photos and footage and said it was acceptable because the families had invited him. Those families have defended Trump, with one saying “we invited him to be there.” (That statement was posted on Trump’s social media account along with footage gathered at Arlington which closes with the Trump-Vance campaign designation.)
Why does Arlington have those rules? How badly did Trump break them? And does the families’ defense matter?
Here are five facts about Arlington that can help provide some clarity:
- “Arlington is a special kind of cemetery–even more than you might think”
- “Arlington does not allow the grounds to be used for politics”
- “Trump’s team violated the rules”
- “Gold Star families can’t change the rules”
- “These rules matter most in Section 60” (This is where the dead from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried).
See how Kesling unpacks these points here.
I think this issue needs to include the perspective of the Gold Star families about whether Biden/ Harris are supportive of them. The right wing media has trashed them over this issue,
in the same way that the left has trashed Trump over this visit. ( Professor Fea, this article, and your recap, comes close to a balanced review. But on partisan issues like this even leaning very slightly left or right ends up with the same result. We fall on our heads. You, and Politico, lean slightly left in this regard ( as usual) and you leave us out of balance. I AM REALLY TIRED OF FALLING OVER. PLEASE DO BETTER.
Ke-Sling B.S. There is such thing as “long held norms” in today’s USA.
I appreciate that the article, and Professor Fea’s introduction to it, presented facts and not opinions. Even Gold Star families cannot give permissions over other Gold Star families who are not present and were not consulted over whether their loved ones’ remains can be used politically.
Security should have been called to escort Trump and the others off the cemetery.