It is a cherished tomb for British military personnel who have lost their lives in battle in Washington. Donald Trump perhaps had wanted it to use the blog to revive his political fortunes after falling behind in elections, but it might then turn out to be his political graveyard.
The original US government’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday to fundamentally respect 13 US personnel killed in a death bombing in Afghanistan on the fourth anniversary of the tragedy has sparked a contentious debate that has divided military veterans and caused deepening divisions in a nation that is already divided.
Some critics, including military veterans, claim that Trump was being unscrupulous by using the celebration as a photo-op to stop his sliding vote prospects, noting that he did not go there in earlier years, even though his campaign officials claim he did so at the invitation of some of the fallen soldiers and did what the former President and vice-president could and should have done.
Tomb officials have received information supporting their claim, including that the Trump aides rode roughshod over their instructions to avoid politicization and that the former president got into an argument with a camera crew when they arrived at the tomb.
A veterans party, which claimed the “whole episode is sickening and affronted all those hundreds of thousands of people who never consented to their deceased loved ones being dragged into politicians ), more raged a short video video and images of a grinning Trump showing hands up signs released by his tent.
However, the Trump campaign maintained that five “gold star” families, which are the quick descendants of military personnel killed in war, had invited him to the tomb, a claim that cemetery officials do not challenge. They tried to warn against using cameras to movie campaign material, even though families are permitted to take personal photos, but they were also apparently afraid of Trump’s report of politicizing such events.
As it turned out, the Trump plan did release photos of the occasion, much to the consternation of some soldiers. A Trump spokesman responded to the claim that a sexual staff member and I had a actual fight at the cemetery, calling the argument that the individual had initiated real call” that was unnecessary and unnecessary” and that she was” suffering from a mental health episode.”
Trump’s campaign adviser Chris LaCivita said in a statement, misspelling the word “hallowed” and said” for a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump’s team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hollowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.”
There are approximately 16 million retired military personnel and 1.3 million serving personnel in the US, and both parties continue to woo their loyalty and votes. According to a 2020 poll published in the Military Times, support for Trump in the US military has been waning– from around 40 per cent in 2016 to 37 per cent in 2020, when Biden got 41 per cent support.
It is unclear how military families will vote now that the 2024 elections will elect a female presidential candidate. One Trump media surrogate has suggested Kamala Harris may not be able to handle the generals in an overtly sexist taunt. Democrats have criticized Trump for allegedly labeling fallen US soldiers as” suckers” and “losers” and generally disdaining sacrifices on the battlefield.
There is a well-known history of his disdain for war heroes and generals, at least three of whom served in his government, and whom he has called” stupid” despite Trump’s claim that he denigrated soldiers and that the liberal media is behind such accusations. In political circles, he is also referred to as a “draft dodger” because he cited a foot injury ( bone spurs ) to weasel out of serving in the military. Trump most recently criticized a civilian Presidential medal of freedom that he gave to wealthy political donors, claiming it was preferable to a similar Congressional military honor given to soldiers because many of those honored are hurt or killed in battle.
” They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead. Miriam]Adelson ] gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman”, Trump gushed about his billionaire donor in remarks that a military veterans group described as “asinine”.
