(Atlanta) Donald Trump’s campaign released a statement Sunday written by Gold Star families who invited him to Arlington National Cemetery, defending the Republican presidential nominee and insisting that Vice President Kamala Harris is the candidate politicizing America’s fallen service members.
It’s the latest salvo in a long back-and-forth as Donald Trump tries to pin responsibility on Kamala Harris for the Biden administration’s handling of the chaotic withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in 2021, including the deaths of 13 American service members in a suicide bombing.
“Gold Star” families are families with a military member who died in service.
Saturday, Mme Harris accused Mr Trump of staging a “political coup” that “disrespected the sacred ground” where many of the Afghan war dead are buried.
Donald Trump and some of the families of those killed in the attack blame Mr.me Harris, as they did with President Joe Biden before he ended his reelection campaign, of being responsible for the deaths of their loved ones. The families say the former president was honoring their loved ones when he came to Arlington.
His campaign later released footage of the visit despite the cemetery’s ban on any partisan activity on the grounds.
“President Trump was invited by us, the Gold Star families, to attend the solemn ceremonies marking the third anniversary of our children’s deaths,” the families’ joint statement said. “He was there to honor their sacrifice, but Vice President Harris shamefully turned this sacred moment into a political ploy.”
Donald Trump laid wreaths Monday in honor of Sergeant Nicole Gee, Master Sergeant Darin Hoover and Master Sergeant Ryan Knauss. They were among 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans who died in a bombing on Aug. 26, 2021, at Hamid Karzai International Airport as U.S. forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan.
PHOTO ALEX BRANDON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Donald Trump and Misty Fuoco, Nicole Gee’s sister, lay a wreath in honor of the sergeant at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on August 26, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia.
Mr Trump thanked the family members for their statement via social media. “Thank you for saying you want me to stand with you.” […] and that I take pictures, that it was your request, not mine,” he wrote.
Throughout the weekend, Donald Trump used his social media accounts to broadcast video testimonies from some of his close friends who signed the declaration.
“A comfort”
Christy Shamblin, M’s stepmotherme Gee, said in a 90-second message that Donald Trump and his aides were “respectful” and “a comfort” to the families who gathered in Arlington. Then she addressed Kamala Harris directly.
“Why don’t you call me back and explain why you call my daughter-in-law’s death a success?” asked Mr.me Shamblin: Why would you use a day when we celebrate the deaths of our loved ones to denigrate not only them, but us as well?
Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited Dover Air Force Base in 2021 for the ceremony to return the remains to the U.S. The Bidens met privately with family members in Dover. They were joined at the ceremony by several senior administration aides, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Mme Shamblin was among several members of “Gold Star” families who also spoke at the Republican National Convention in July on Mr. Trump’s behalf. Several joined Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, on a conference call with the media.
Mr Trump’s appearance descended into controversy after defence officials said his campaign team had been warned not to take photos and there was an altercation between Mr Trump’s aides and a cemetery worker.
Also read: “Trump’s team was warned not to take photos”
Since Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign in July, Donald Trump has focused his attacks on Mme Harris and her role in foreign policy decisions. He highlighted the vice president’s statements that she was the last person in the room before Joe Biden made the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.
The Biden administration was following a withdrawal commitment and timetable that the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban in 2020. A 2022 review by a government-appointed special investigator concluded that decisions made by Messrs. Trump and Biden were key factors that led to the rapid collapse of the Afghan military and the Taliban takeover.
On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Trump said leaving was the right thing to do, but that the Biden administration’s execution was poor. “We were going to do it with dignity and strength,” he said in a recent speech in Michigan.