Alexander Vindman, lieutenant colonel US Army (retired), was the director for European Affairs on the United States National Security Council. He is now a senior adviser to VoteVets, and runs the national security and defense think tank, the Institute for Informed American Leadership. His military awards include two Legions of Merit and the Purple Heart, having sustained wounds in an IED attack during the Iraq War.
I wasn’t surprised when I saw the picture of Donald Trump making a thumbs-up sign, grinning, at Arlington National Cemetery—but that lack of surprise was overwhelmed by the disgust I felt seeing his pose and expression that was so out of place given the surroundings. He was standing on the graves of our heroes, but seemed to think he was at a campaign event, rather than hallowed ground containing the remains of those who died in combat, in service to their nation.
I think anybody that serves, or has served, would feel similarly. The bulk of my adult life—20 years—was spent in military service. I have an enormous amount of respect for our soldiers and what they do for this country. A strong military is a core component of our national defense. What Trump did, how badly he behaves, what he says, his total disrespect, is felt extremely acutely by those in the military—past and present-serving—and their families.
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His lack of remorse, his excuses that he was invited there by Gold Star families, the report that one of his staffers pushed a cemetery employee aside as they warned his team about filming there—none of this is a surprise either, although I do think the Army bears some responsibility for not having someone senior on site to enforce standards. Trump has consistently denigrated public servants and veterans in particular. This particular event seems to have broken through in a way that other transgressions haven’t.
Trump’s own former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly confirmed Trump had called servicemen and veterans “suckers” and “losers.” Trump has compared the highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, to the Presidential Medal of Freedom, claiming the civilian version is “actually much better because everyone that gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead.” In 2018, when he was president, his team claimed that rain had prevented him visiting a US cemetery in France.
His almost maniacal expression in the photo at Arlington sticks out in my mind above all the other controversies because there is nobody, nobody, that would judge that to be OK. Veterans and Gold Star families are not letting go of this. Trump and his team and supporters’ excuses do not obviate his obligations to abide by the law—and it’s a violation of the law to use Arlington National Cemetery as part of a political stunt. His doubling-down means nothing to the veterans and Gold Star families who know this is outrageous behavior. Trump relies on people forgetting all his past actions, but those involved in the military will not forget Arlington.
I have my own firsthand experience of experiencing Trump’s terrible behavior. I had the opportunity to observe a White House where there was no respect for service of any kind—military or public. I think of Trump’s first impeachment where public servants were mischaracterized and harassed.
My own character was maligned as part of a concerted campaign between the White House and right-wing media to tarnish my reputation. That resulted in the ending my career and obstruction of my promotion. At that time, the military was cowed into some sort of submission, and bent to Trump’s desires, even as the values, norms, and laws of the time were being violated.
Alexander Vindman, then director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, when being sworn in to testify before a House Intelligence Committee hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 19, 2019.
Jonathan Ernst/ReutersI have spoken to some Gold Star families after Arlington, and they personally feel that they have been attacked. Yes, Trump was able to entice or coerce some of them to help him, and speak in his defense. I do not criticize them for that; they were acting in their own interests to honor their loved ones, even if, in my view, they were manipulated by Trump to be part of a political stunt. And in this they are being victimized again—they have lost a loved one, and are now caught up in a political stunt, and having to deal with the fallout of that.
Of course, we should not expect an apology or expression of contrition from Trump. He never admits fault, he always blames someone else. He even blamed the families at Arlington initially, claiming to have been set up somehow in an ambush. But we should not let what happened at Arlington go. I would like some accountability—either the Army should pursue an investigation into what happened, or be compelled to pursue an investigation by Congress. The results of this investigation should be sent to the Department of Justice.
What I also hope is that the incident makes people—who don’t yet see it—see Trump for who he really is. Many Americans have ties to military service; how would they feel if Trump had pulled that kind of stunt at the final resting place of their own family members that served honorably in uniform defending the nation? They should ask themselves how his behavior reflects on Trump’s character and ability to lead, and how it reflects on the care he will take of those in the military who defend our national security.
I think Trump pulled the stunt in the first place because he knows, or has been warned, that he is losing the votes of members of the military, and their loved ones. He knows this is a vulnerability. That is why he staged what he staged at Arlington. But the fact is military members and their families are leaving Trump and his extremist Republican party, and incidents like Arlington—where he fully displays his utter lack of respect—will help hemorrhage his support among the military in November.
For so many independents, moderate Republicans and Democrats, Kamala Harris represents hope, not looking or going back, and the better days not behind us but in front of us. I think she will win; my intellect says by a pretty thin margin as Biden did in 2020, although my hope is that it’s by a large enough margin to allow the American public to finally consign Trump and Trumpism to the past, move on, and try to heal some wounds and bring people together.
To American voters, I would say: look at Trump at Arlington National Cemetery, think about what this, and all that he has said and done, says about him, and vote Harris.
