Army slams Trump staff over ‘push’ at Arlington

The incident has mushroomed into a public dispute between the military and a former US commander in chief.

Donald Trump stands alongside Misty Fuoco, whose sister Nicole Gee died in the August 26, 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul airport. Picture: AFP

The US Army on Thursday took aim at Donald Trump’s staff over a visit by the Republican nominee to the country’s most hallowed resting place for its war dead.

The incident has mushroomed into a public dispute between the military and a former US commander in chief, with Mr Trump lashing out and accusing President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris of having “killed” American soldiers through “gross incompetence”.

Mr Trump went to Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington with family members of some of the 13 service members killed in a 2021 bombing during the last hours of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. His campaign posted photos from the visit, including one showing him giving a thumbs-up gesture while standing with relatives at the grave of a Marine.

The army said an Arlington employee was “abruptly pushed aside” when she sought to ensure a law prohibiting political activity on cemetery grounds was followed. “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked,” a spokesman said.

Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita described the employee as a “despicable individual”, while campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said she was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode”.

Mr LaCivita later reposted video of Mr Trump’s presence at Arlington and said he hoped it would “trigger the hacks” at the US Army secretary’s office.

At a Thursday rally in Michigan, Mr Trump defended his visit. “They asked me to go yesterday to Arlington and I did,” he said of the families.

“Joe Biden killed their children, by incompetence... Kamala killed their children – just as though they had a gun in their hand – by gross incompetence.

“Not one general or incompetent bureaucrat was fired” over the deadly pullout.

“And then they accuse me of having a picture taken at the tombstone with the family.”

AFP