Former President Trump defended his past actions during a campaign stop at Arlington National Cemetery in Pennsylvania on Friday, saying his appearance was not intended to draw public attention to the 2021 Kabul airport attack that killed 13 U.S. soldiers.
Trump said at an event in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that families of those killed during the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan had asked him to visit the cemetery to honor their loved ones. He added that after the wreath-laying ceremony, the families asked him to accompany them to the graves and take pictures.
“I didn’t do it for the publicity. I get a lot of publicity,” the former president said. “I’d rather get a lot less publicity. I’m the only one who would hire a publicity agency to get less publicity.”
President Trump also claimed that accusations that he was using the graves for publicity purposes were “spawned from the White House” and accused President Biden of being responsible for the soldiers’ deaths over his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, calling it “shameful.”
But the incident did occur at the cemetery itself, and a report was filed as a result. NPR first reported that a cemetery employee clashed with Trump campaign staff when the employee tried to stop the team from taking photos and video of a section of the cemetery known as Section 60, where soldiers who died while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried.
That section was also not made public.
A source said staff tried to block them from entering but the official was pushed out.
“Federal law prohibits political campaigning or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, including photographers, content creators, or anyone else present for the purpose of campaigning or directly supporting a partisan political candidate,” the cemetery said in a statement.
“Arlington National Cemetery has reinforced and made widely known this law and prohibition to all participants. We can confirm that an incident occurred and a report was filed,” he added, but did not provide further details.
Trump campaign communications director Stephen Tseng denied there was a physical altercation.
“The fact is that a personal photographer was allowed into the building, and for whatever reason, an individual with mental health issues decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during what was a very solemn ceremony,” he said after the reported incident.
Jang also Posted a message He said he received a post on social platform X saying Trump could bring a photographer and cinematographer.
The Trump campaign also shared a statement from family members of two soldiers, which read, “The President and his team have acted with the utmost respect and dignity for all our service members, especially our beloved children.”
The former president said at the rally that he was “really happy” that the family took a photo with him at the grave. He also praised those who defended him for asking him to go to the grave with them.
“They said we asked him to be here, and we want him to be there all the time,” Trump said. “I think that’s great, and we love you all.”
