Mr. Respect the Troops visits Arlington

Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said [...] that the cemetery official was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode” and that the campaign was prepared to release footage of the confrontation to support its account of the clash. The campaign did not provide that footage after several requests.

Chris LaCivita, a top Trump campaign adviser, added in a separate statement that the cemetery official was “a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.”

  NYT

Trump people are despicable people.

Trump didn’t visit Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day in 2018, when he was president. But he visited it today in a shameful political attempt to deflect all the revived reports of his life-long disdain for military service and those patriots who died defending the USA.

[...]

If a service is closely related, both time and location, to partisan activities or demonstrations being conducted outside the Cemetery, it will be determined partisan and therefore inappropriate.

[...]

And what moron shows “thumbs up” at a cemetery?

  Daily Kos

Two members of Donald Trump's campaign staff had a verbal and physical altercation Monday with an official at Arlington National Cemetery, where the former president participated in a wreath-laying ceremony, NPR has learned.

[...]

The source said Arlington officials had made clear that only cemetery staff members would be authorized to take photographs or film in the area, known as Section 60.

When the cemetery official tried to prevent Trump campaign staff from entering Section 60, campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the official aside, according to the source.

[...]

Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign's spokesman, strongly rejected the notion of a physical altercation, adding: "We are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made.

[...]

The Trump campaign declined to make that footage immediately available.

  NPR

Because it doesn't exist. Or worse, it shows exactly what they did.

In a statement to NPR, Arlington National Cemetery said it "can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed."

A campaign spokesman didn’t just say there had been a misunderstanding, or that the families had given them permission. The spokesman groundlessly asserted the cemetery official was “suffering from a mental health episode.”

Why? For the same reason [GOP VP candidate JD] Vance feels entirely comfortable to weigh in on his political opponents’ personal choices about kids and families. The routine slander of individuals and groups is part of the essence of the movement.

  The Bulwark

UPDATE 07:18 pm:

There happened to be a camera there.

UPDATE 08/29/2024:

A cemetery employee "who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside," the spokesperson said. "Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption."

After the incident was reported to military police, "the employee subsequently decided not to press charges.

  NBC

ANC should pursue the matter on her behalf.

Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed," the spokesperson said, calling the incident "unfortunate." The statement added that "it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve."

Unless it's Trump showing the disrespect, that is.

No it's not.  They don't have anything that makes them look good.

It's an NPR link! The only person it might be unsafe for is the asshole who disrespects the nation's soldiers.

UPDATE 09/02/2024:

UPDATE 09/06/2024:

This week, Trump contradicted his own campaign with a post on Truth Social falsely calling the confrontation a “made up story by Comrade Kamala and her misinformation squad” that attacked Harris and Biden for not attending the private ceremony.

In an interview on Sean Hannity’s radio show Tuesday, Trump reiterated the false assertion that nothing happened at the cemetery, questioning the motives of the unnamed employee and downplaying the accusations as attacks over “publicity.”

“Do you notice that the person represented now doesn’t want to talk, he doesn’t want to speak or talk?” Trump asked, mislabeling the employee as male. “The nice thing, the beautiful thing, was all the parents and relatives got together and they said ‘That’s a false story, it was totally false.’”

[...]

NPR is identifying both staffers after the campaign’s conflicting responses to the incident last week outside Section 60 of the cemetery, where many casualties of Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.

The two staffers, according to a source with knowledge of the incident, are deputy campaign manager Justin Caporale and Michel Picard, a member of Trump’s advance team.

[...]

ANC rules, that had been made clear to the Trump campaign in advance, say that only an official Arlington photographer can take pictures or film in Section 60. When an ANC employee tried to enforce the rules, she was verbally abused by the two Trump campaign operatives, according to a source with knowledge of the incident. Picard then pushed her out of the way according to two Pentagon officials.

After NPR first reported the altercation last week, campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said they were “prepared to release footage” of the incident, and attacked the Arlington employee as someone “clearly suffering from a mental health episode.” Cheung also said they were granted access to have a photographer present, and pointed to a statement from Gold Star family members that invited Trump to attend the ceremony.

The campaign also released a TikTok video that included video footage from Section 60, including a smiling Trump flashing a thumbs up with family members at the gravesites. But other tombstones are visible in the picture, and at least one family of a fallen Green Beret has confirmed they did not give permission for his grave to be filmed or used in a campaign ad.

  NPR

Pretty sure it wouldn't matter if they did "give permission". The only permission that counts is from Arlington.

The Trump campaign has still not followed through on its pledge to release video of the incident, despite repeated requests from NPR.

[...]

The Army released a statement last Thursday acknowledging that a cemetery employee “was abruptly pushed aside” and the campaign was warned ahead of time of the prohibition against photography and political activities at Arlington. The Army said the cemetery employee tried to de-escalate the situation after she was pushed, in hopes of not upsetting the Gold Star families in attendance.