One thing you can always count on when Donald Trump does anything whatsoever is that it will be conducted the utmost disregard for decorum, taste or decency. Such was the case Monday when The Dotard and his entourage rolled into Arlington National Cemetery intent upon making political hay out of the tragic deaths of thirteen service members killed in Afghanistan three years ago under the Biden administration. Our own Denis Elliot does a fine job here of explaining Trump’s role in that debacle and why his attempts to place all the blame for the soldiers’ deaths on President Biden is nonsense. Trump began his visit with the traditional placing of a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was undoubtedly the stated purpose of the event, and for which Arlington gave their permission – despite a prohibition of staging political campaign events in the final resting place of America’s fallen heroes. It was after that when Trump moved to the real purpose of his visit, a crass photo op with the family of one of the thirteen killed in Afghanistan to be used in his 2024 campaign ads.
It was at this point that things went off the rails:
“Arlington National Cemetery has confirmed to ABC News that during former President Donald Trump’s visit on Monday, an “incident” related to photos being taken at the site occurred, leading to a report being filed.
On Tuesday night, NPR reported that a source had told the publication that two Trump campaign officials engaged in a verbal and physical altercation with an Arlington Cemetery staff member during former Trump’s visit.
The alleged altercation took place after the Trump campaign officials were asked not to take photos and videos in Section 60, a section of the cemetery where recent U.S. veterans are buried, NPR reported.
When contacted by ABC News on Tuesday night, a representative for the Arlington National Cemetery released a statement that confirmed an “incident” but didn’t provide specifics.
“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign. Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants. We can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed,” the statement read.“
What a bunch of thugs. A female cemetery official, almost without a doubt a servicewoman herself, objected to their using a recently killed soldier for their politicking and was manhandled for her efforts.
This is where the Trump campaign’s communications director, Steven Cheung comes in. He attempted, on Twitter, to convince a dubious audience that Arlington had given the Trump campaign permission to film and snap photos in Section 60 in violation of their stated policy.
It did not go well…
We were granted access to have a photographer there. https://t.co/s2E9lNdksK pic.twitter.com/dXbZ03hwzB
— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) August 27, 2024
My suspicion is that this blurb was issued by Arlington as pertaining to what was probably the stated purpose of the visit – the wreath laying – and cemetery officials were not aware that Trump would take those idiotic thumbs up photos in Section 60.
Others had the same opinion.
This was for the wreath laying ceremony. There are no press pools in section 60. It looks like @ArlingtonNatl granted a small exception and you and your boss said Fuck You we can do what we want. I’m looking forward to the official report, Trump loosing and you going away
— mpmcgeefnp (@mpmcgeefnp) August 28, 2024
Exactly
No, you weren’t. Arlington doesn’t operate that way. No special dispensation granted, ever. Those of us with loved ones buried or interred there know the rules all too well.
They don’t come any sleazier than Steven Cheung. #TrumpSleaze #ArlingtonNationalCemetary
— Inverted Pyramid (@DemByBirth) August 27, 2024
Yup
The fuck you were , disgusting bastards
— 🇺🇸 🦅🌻Hugh Patriot 🌻🦅 🇺🇸 (@scotlandishson) August 28, 2024
💯
Your made up ceremony was a FUCKING PHOTO OP. TRUMP IS A FUCKING POS THAT HATES VETS.
— GGMac K-Hive, Pro Choice, Pro 🇺🇦, F*ck Putin (@GG_MacM13420) August 28, 2024
Well, yeah.
You used dead soldiers as campaign props.
Gross, even for Trump.
— RunDoff (@RunDoff) August 27, 2024
Just another day in Trump world…
Why would Trump want a smiling thumbs up selfie by a grave in Arlington?
What is wrong with you people?
— Writ Large (@Brett1231) August 28, 2024
Everything.
No lie is too despicable for these people, and no purpose greater than the continued promotion and veneration of the conman Trump.
And, as I have not seen it stated elsewhere, the Trump loving MAGA family posing with the dotard and smiling, smiling for Christ’s sake, at the grave of their loved one, should be ashamed of themselves.
I suppose the first prerequisite for joining the MAGA cult is to rid yourself of any semblance of self awareness or dignity.
I suspect Steven Cheung did this years ago.
The report I heard yesterday on NPR referred to the Arlington official that was pushed as a “her” !!! Sorry but in my mind that makes it even worse and more crude..
Thx, will edit.
To follow up on the tweet posted by “Writ Large,” look at the whole group: They’re ALL smiling. What the fork is wrong with these people? SMILING IN A PICTURE AT A DEAD RELATIVE’S GRAVE?!?!?!
I wonder if they were all smiles and giggles at the internment ceremony or the family’s memorial service and trying to snap all sorts of selfies at the gravesite/casket?
The Blonde woman directly behind Dotard is giving a “devil horns” sign as in Rock & Roll! They thought this was a damned party! The families of those interred around them should be contacted and encouraged to file complaints against the Dotard and that scum calling himself a press secretary, and the employee who was assaulted should file a police report. Uhg. These people must have been born in a ditch.
You can take the girl out of the trailer park but…
Two things. Those family members might as well have squatted and taken a dump on their relative’s (I started to say loved ones but clearly there was no love in them for the deceased) grave. The second is regarding a question I heard this morning from a pundit’s name I can’t remember: “Is nothing sacred?” I toyed with the idea of writing an article based on that but I think you’ll done a great job of painting a fuller picture of this travesty than I was able to do last night from the information I had available.
For Trump and his MAGAs there IS actually one thing still sacred. TRUMP. That’s it. WTF is WRONG with these people? I’d say he deserved to get dragged all the way out of the cemetery by his hair but there’s so little of it and he’s so bloated and fat it would pull out. We’d have to settle for dragging him out by his heels, and wishing he actually HAD bone spurs to make it all the more painful. Too bad there wasn’t a funeral nearby. Someone could have unhooked a horse from the caisson the bore the casket, tied one of Trump’s legs to it and smacked it on the ass to set it running at full gallop just like you see in old westerns. THROUGH all the tablets sticking up out of the ground marking each grave. The horse would dodge and weave but Trump would have gotten beat the hell up with broken bones and cuts and at the very least a concussion. Maybe worse although I’d hope it would have taken a while before he was knocked comatose or dead.
I bet these”relatives” were paid to pose, with this Abomination! RW have NO respect for the living or the dead. RW Trump & his Cult are totally INSANE! America, this is NOT NORMAL!
“I bet these”relatives” were paid to pose”… Well, if so I hope they got their money up front.
The REAL shameful thing about this whole event is the relatives doing this to their deceased loved ones. von shitzinpants can be expected to do tasteless, thoughtless, self-centered, asinine, etc. things–it IS his m.o. These people are allowing him to show his contempt for the soldiers with his presence for some stupid political ad-he is using the deceased for PROPS f.f.s. These people are unspeakable trash who ought to be forbidden from EVER polluting Arlington with their presence. What a disgrace.
Kindly correct me if I’m wrong: the woman next to Trumpler is making the hand sign of the horns, which I believe means “rock on” in general slang usage. So who’s rockin’ on here? Her, Trump, the family of the deceased? I suspect the latter’s rolling in her grave, not rocking.
It’s unfortunate that Arlington doesn’t retain some security for the grounds. They could have backed up the woman who was trying to do her job of protecting the honor of Arlington. It’d be great to see stump and his minions frog marched back to his vehicle by the military.
As an El Pasoan, the scene at the grave reminds of that psychopath’s smiling thumbs up at the hospital where the Walmart victims were dying!! And, on top of all the other statements on the incident was that other psychopath, Steven Cheung, saying “there was no physical altercation at the gravesites where people are forbidden from ANY type of photography…and we have the VIDEO to prove it!” JFC!! Do these people even listen to themselves being that idiotic?!
“Kung Flu” Cheung strikes again!!
What’s this in reference to?
God I thank my lucky stars I wasn’t there. Otherwise they would understand what a physical altercation really was. America…how the phuck can you support these soulless nazis, WHEN EVERYTHING YOU PHUCKING HAVE WAS PURCHASED BY THE BLOOD OF THOSE HEROES??? I have to face the fact I’m in a lover’s quarrel with my homeland.
My question is whether *rump made visits on the 1st and 2nd anniversaries? If not, then this visit was a campaign prop.
West…no he didn’t. It was just a phucking stunt.
West, everything Trump does is a photo op for his grinning sociopathic self. His thumb-up is for himself, not anyone else in that cemetery.
The party of decorum makes another statement on what is acceptable to them.
Thumbs up!
Remember the fuss about tan suits?
As the story has unfolded they were told NOT to do any filming or photos in that area. They acted like entitled assholes AS THEY ALWAYS DO. We can only hope the lies they try to cover up will continue to be exposed between now and November. Oh and the little faux christian nazi speaker ran interference for them.
No, one of the mourners gave permission for a political op-ed to be done on their supposed loved ones dead body. I’m sure that said soldier would have been all in. NOT! I doubt any soldier would desercrete another soldier’s grave and said grave is clearly visible in the photo. Along with coward and chief bone spurs trump giving a thumbs up. 👍 What’s that. Good show you’re dead. Now we can broadcast it to the world. What a moron!
I guess the war on women continues to another saga. Beat the crap out of a ANC person so you can do an illegal photo op where you were told you couldn’t even take pictures. Trump at his finest. Supposedly a guest told them they could take pictures. I wonder when they took over the cemetery. Who do these people think they are. Have they no shame. No I guess not. They were there with Cheeto. That says it all.