Kamala Harris slams Donald Trump's 'political stunt' at Arlington cemetery, comments: 'Nothing new'
Trump, Arlington, Kamala
US Vice President Kamala Harris has openly slammed her political rival Donald Trump for using footage from his visit to Arlington National Cemetery in a campaign video, calling it "a political stunt".
Harris emphasised the "sacred" nature of the cemetery, where fallen American soldiers are laid to rest, and said it should not be used for political purposes.
Trump's visit to the graves of 13 service members, killed during the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, was meant as a campaign boost but has instead sparked backlash, particularly after footage from the event was posted by his campaign.
What did Kamala Harris say?
"Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt," said the Democratic Party presidential candidate Harris.
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"If there is one thing on which we as Americans can all agree, it is that our veterans, military families, and service members should be honoured, never disparaged, and treated with nothing less than our highest respect and gratitude," she added in a post on X.
Harris also highlighted Trump's history of derogatory comments about military service members, referencing his controversial remarks about veterans such as Senator John McCain and fallen World War I soldiers.
"This is nothing new from Donald Trump. This is a man who has called our fallen service members 'suckers' and 'losers' and disparaged Medal of Honour recipients," she wrote.
Why has Trump's visit to Arlington National Cemetery snowballed into a controversy?
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, last weekvisited the Arlington National Cemetery and Section 60 of the Virginia cemetery, both of which are considered hallowed ground by the US military.
As per federal law and Pentagon policies, political activities aren't allowed in hallowed grounds. This includes photo ops for campaign material.
Arlington National Cemetery, in a statement, said "Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate's campaign."
The cemetery located just outside Washington added that it "reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants."
His visit and the photos ultimately used for campaigning have drawn criticism from Democrats, along with some veterans and soldiers' relatives.
Trump defends himself
In response, Trump defended his actions, explaining that families of the fallen soldiers had asked him to visit the graves.
At a speech in Pennsylvania on Friday (Aug 30), he said, "I got there, and we had a ceremony."
Trump said that the families had requested a photo: "I said, 'Absolutely.' So I was taking pictures at the grave."
He has since posted videos of several of those families defending him and questioning Harris' support for military families.
(With inputs from agencies)
