Trump campaign 'remains defiant' despite outrage over Arlington cemetery debacle

Monday, August 26 found Donald Trump's chaotic 2024 presidential campaign being plunged into yet another controversy when members of his team got into a verbal and reportedly physical altercation with an employee at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

The employee objected to Trump campaign staffers shooting video in Section 60, a heavily restricted area of the cemetery. According to the employee, this was a blatant violation of Arlington's rules; however, the employee declined to press charges.

In an official statement, a U.S. Army spokesperson was highly critical of the Trump campaign's treatment of the Arlington Cemetery employee.

READ MORE:US Army confirms Trump camp 'unfairly attacked' cemetery worker in official statement

In an article published by the Daily Beast on August 30, reporter Sean Craig describes the Trump campaign's response to the controversy — a response that, according to Craig, includes attacking U.S. Army leadership.

Craig reports, "Former President Donald Trump's campaign manager called the staff at the Secretary of the Army’s office 'hacks' Thursday amid continuing fallout from his disastrous appearance at Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week…. Chris LaCivita, Trump's campaign manager, didn't care. He reposted a video of Trump at Arlington on X Thursday, which he initially shared Monday on X, adding the caption, 'Reposting this hoping to trigger the hacks at @SecArmy.'"

Craig adds that LaCivita and other members of Trump's campaign "have remained defiant in the face of criticism over the incident.

"The Army's statement came a day after a video was posted to Trump's TikTok account featuring footage from his visit to Arlington, including from a part of the cemetery where political activity is not allowed — Section 60 is largely reserved for graves of soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq," Craig explains. "The family of a Green Beret who served in Afghanistan and whose grave is near where the Trump campaign filmed told the Times they were concerned his resting place was filmed without permission. The father of an Army captain who was killed in Iraq told The Daily Beast that Trump's campaign had shown 'disrespect' during their candidate’s appearance at Arlington."

READ MORE: 'This is not an election about policy': Fascism expert warns MAGA would 'impose' dictatorship

Read the Daily Beast's full article at this link (subscription required).