'Offensive': Trump turns Arlington visit into campaign TikTok as veterans condemn 'stunt'

Donald Trump has turned his highly-controversial and possibly unlawful campaign event at Arlington National Cemetery into a campaign TikTok video, complete with background music and his remarks as the voiceover. Arlington, the final resting place for about 400,000 of America’s service members, many of whom died in service to their country, has strict rules against using the grounds for political purposes, rules that are backed up by federal law.

Not only did the Trump campaign possibly violate federal law, according to a statement released by Arlington, but NPR reports members of the campaign allegedly got into a verbal and physical altercation with an Arlington official who apparently was attempting to enforce the rules.

“Video from Section 60, where recently buried U.S. service members are interred, later appeared in a Trump campaign Tik Tok in which he criticizes President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival for the presidency,” USA Today reports.

Veterans and veterans’ groups are outraged, as are some members of the general public.

Former Trump Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told CNN, “I think it should be investigated.”

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Esper says when he served as Secretary of the Army he was effectively the “custodian of Arlington Cemetery, since the Army has responsibility for it. There is no more hallowed ground in this nation than Arlington Cemetery.”

“Bottom line: The principle is that no person or party, either side, should ever use Arlington National Cemetery – or any of our cemeteries or battlefields – for partisan political purposes.”

The progressive veterans’ organization VoteVets blasted Trump for “using footage and photos his campaign took at Arlington National Cemetary for political purposes — against the rules and laws that govern this hallowed ground.”

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Wesley Clark called the Trump campaign’s event “deeply offensive” and a “stunt.”

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The nonpartisan organization Veterans For Responsible Leadership called the Trump campaign’s actions “disgraceful.”

Army combat veteran and former Lincoln Project executive director Fred Wellman, who has sat on the boards of several military-related nonprofits, blasted Trump.

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In his video for Vote Vets, Wellman notes he is a retired Lt. Colonel who served for 22 years. He says the Arlington official who allegedly got into the altercation with the Trump campaign staffers “wasn’t trying to stop ‘Trump,’ he was trying to defend the graves of a couple of thousand of our brothers and sisters…who were being used as a prop.”

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) has asked for the report Arlington National Cemetery filed to be made public:

“It’s sad but all too expected that Donald Trump would desecrate this hallowed ground and put campaign politics ahead of honoring our heroes. This is a man whose own military generals have disavowed, a man who has called heroes like John McCain suckers and losers, a man who has insulted Gold Star families. His behavior and that of his campaign is abhorrent and shameful.”

One veteran not expressing outrage but rather full-throated support for Trump’s actions: his vice-presidential running mate, JD Vance, a former U.S. Marine Corps military journalist. He discounted the reported “verbal and physical altercation” as a media creation.

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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