Trump issues statement from families of fallen servicemen defending visit to Arlington National Cemetery

Donald Trump’s campaign on Sunday issued a statement from military family members of the Gold Star veterans organization who invited him to Arlington National Cemetery defending the Republican presidential nominee and insisting that Vice President Kamala Harris is the candidate who is politicizing the families of fallen military personnel.

It is the latest in a long-running exchange of recriminations in which Trump blames Harris for President Joe Biden’s administration’s handling of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, including a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.

On Saturday, Harris accused Trump of orchestrating a “political stunt” that “disrespected the hallowed ground” where many of the fallen soldiers from the Afghanistan war are buried. Trump and the families of some of the service members killed in the bombing blame Harris for the deaths of their loved ones, just as they previously blamed Biden before he ended his reelection bid. The families also say Trump was paying tribute to their loved ones when he went to Arlington.

Trump’s campaign later released images of the visit despite cemetery officials banning campaigning activities on the grounds.

“We, the Gold Star families, invited President Trump to the solemn ceremonies commemorating the third anniversary of our sons’ deaths,” the families’ collective statement read. “He was there to honor their sacrifice, but Vice President Harris has shamefully misrepresented the purpose of this sacred moment as part of a political ploy.”

Gold Star families have lost loved ones in military service.

On Monday, Trump laid wreaths for Staff Sergeant Nicole Gee, Staff Sergeant Darin Hoover and Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss, who were among 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans killed in an Aug. 26, 2021, attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport as U.S. forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan.

Trump thanked the family members for their statement on social media. “Thank you for saying that you wanted me to accompany you (…) and take photos, which was you who asked me to do and not the other way around,” he wrote.

Over the weekend, Trump used his social media accounts to distribute videos with testimonies from some of the family members who signed the joint statement.

[Con información de The Associated Press]

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