Trump and Harris spar over Arlington cemetery visit as he posts video messages from Gold Star family members

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The war of words over Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery continued over the weekend with his campaign issuing a statement and sharing videos from the Gold Star military families that the former president had joined at the memorial on Monday, when they marked three years since 13 service members were killed during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In the statement shared on Sunday, the Gold Star families – who have lost a loved one in military service – defended the Republican presidential nominee and insisted that Vice President Kamala Harris was the candidate politicizing fallen US service members.

Some family members also recorded video messages that the former president posted on Truth Social, saying Trump was honoring their loved ones when he came to Arlington.

The Republican presidential nominee has been facing fierce backlash over Monday’s visit, where campaign staffers allegedly physically shoved a female worker and then disrespected fallen soldiers and veterans’ families by defying the rules to film and take photos in a banned area.

On Saturday, Harris accused Trump of staging a “political stunt” that “disrespected sacred ground” where many Afghanistan war dead are buried when his campaign released images of his visit — including the Republican nominee standing giving thumbs up by the graves of fallen soldiers. Partisan activity is prohibited on cemetery grounds.

The same day, President Joe Biden told reporters when asked about the incident: “I don’t want to answer because I might tell you what I think.”

To deflect from the furor, the former president has ramped up his rhetoric in recent days seeking to directly link Harris to the Biden administration’s handling of the US’s exit from Afghanistan in 2021 after 20 years of occupation.

The service members who died on August 26 2021, were killed by a suicide bomber at the Abbey Gate of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.

Trump and the families of some of those killed in the bombing blame Harris, as they did Biden before he ended his reelection bid, for their loved ones’ deaths, slamming her role in foreign policy decisions, and highlighting a statement she made that she was the last person in the room before Biden made the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.

“President Trump was invited by us, the Gold Star families, to attend the solemn ceremonies commemorating the three-year anniversary of our children’s deaths,” said the relatives’ joint statement. “He was there to honor their sacrifice, yet Vice President Harris has disgracefully twisted this sacred moment into a political ploy.”

Trump laid wreaths last Monday in honor of Sgt Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt Ryan Knauss.

He posted video testimonials from their family members and thanked them for their statement via social media: “Thank you for saying you wanted me to stand with you ... and take pictures, that it was your request, not mine.”

Christy Shamblin, Gee’s mother-in-law, said in a 90-second message that Trump and his aides were “respectful” and a “a comfort” to the families who gathered at Arlington. Then she directly addressed her remarks to Harris.

“Why won’t you return a call and explain how you call my daughter-in-law’s death a success?” Shamblin said. “Why would you take a day where we celebrated the deaths of our loved ones and use it to disparage not only them, but us.”

Shamblin was among the several family members who also spoke at the Republican National Convention in July on Trump’s behalf. Others have joined Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, on a conference call with media.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden went to Dover Air Force Base in 2021 for the ceremony returning the service members’ remains to US soil and met privately with the family members there.

Allies of the former president also jumped to defend him in appearances on the Sunday morning political shows, with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina telling ABC News: “You know what really is unfortunate? That these families had to go visit their fallen loved ones at Arlington due to incompetence by the Biden administration.”

Trump’s visit to the cemetery is controversial because defense officials said his campaign was warned about not taking photographs. There was also an altercation between Trump aides and a cemetery employee when the staff member tried to tell them not to film or take photos.

Officials have said since that an employee whom two Trump campaign staff members allegedly “verbally abused and pushed” aside has declined to press charges.

In response, the Trump campaign lashed out at Pentagon officials, with top campaign adviser Chris LaCivita referring to military spokespersons as “hacks” and claiming the campaign had prior permission to film at the site.

The Afghanistan withdrawal came in respect to a commitment and timeline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban in 2020.

A 2022 review by a government-appointed special investigator concluded decisions made by both Trump and Biden were the key factors leading to the rapid collapse of Afghanistan’s military and the Taliban takeover.

With reporting from the Associated Press