Harris says Trump campaign "disrespected" Arlington Cemetery for "the sake of a political stunt"
Vice President Kamala Harris condemned former President Donald Trump and his campaign for disrespecting a "sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt."
In a post on X, the Democrat Party nominee said Arlington National Cemetery is a "place where we come together to honor American heroes" and it is "not a place for politics."
These are Harris' first comments since it was reported that an altercation between a female cemetery official and a Trump campaign staffer on Monday. Trump took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate three years since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He was joined by Gold Star families whose family members died.
"And yet, as was reported this week, Donald Trump's team chose to film a video there, resulting in an altercation with cemetery staff," Harris said on Saturday. "Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt."
She added: "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 honored, never disparaged, and treated with nothing less than our highest respect and gratitude."
The Trump campaign and Arlington National Cemetery officials differ on what exactly happened.
Different experiences, same incident
The Trump campaign said they were explicitly granted permission to bring "campaign designated media" to Section 60 of the cemetery by the Gold Star families. Messages reviewed by CBS News confirmed that the campaign was given direct permission by the families.
However, the rules at Army National Military Cemeteries are dictated by federal law which prohibits any filming for partisan, political or fundraising purposes, according to Arlington National Cemetery media policies, even if there are requests by family members of the fallen.
An Army spokesperson said all participants were made aware of the federal laws ahead of Monday's incident.
"An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside," the Army said. "Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption."
The incident was reported to the military police department by the Arlington Cemetery employee, who decided not to press charges. The Army told CBS News that it considers the matter closed.
The Trump campaign's communications director, Steven Cheung told CBS News in a statement that there was "no physical altercation" and that they are prepared to release footage.
"The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony," the statement said.
Republicans take aim at Harris, Dems want answers
In a post on X responding to Harris, Trump's running mate Sen. JD Vance said: "President Trump was there at the invitation of families whose loved ones died because of your incompetence. Why don't you get off social media and go launch an investigation into their unnecessary deaths?"
Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton praised Trump, saying Gold Star families had every right to invite "whomever they wanted to commemorate this solemn anniversary."
"The real scandal is that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden condemned thirteen brave American troops to death and didn't even have the decency to call or meet with the Gold Star families to express their condolences," the Arkansas senator said in a statement released by Trump's campaign.
In her own post on X, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt blasted Harris, blaming the vice president for the deaths during the withdrawal.
"Kamala's stupidity led to one of the most embarrassing events in American history and 13 brave US soldiers being killed. She has never said their names. She has never reached out to their families," she said. "For this alone, Kamala does not deserve to be elected. Kamala has already proven that she would be a dangerously incompetent Commander in Chief."
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers with the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the U.S. Army requesting a "full account" of the incident at the cemetery.
"It appears that the Trump campaign—which arrived at the Cemetery with a photographer and videographer—completely flouted the laws and rules they were informed of and filmed footage in the restricted area for use in a political TikTok video," Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland wrote in a letter to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth.
Raskin requested a response from Wormuth by Sept. 9.