Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed Kamala Harris “made up” the story about a member of his campaign staff getting into a physical altercation with an official at Arlington National Cemetery last week.
The cemetery has already confirmed that an incident took place during the Republican nominee’s visit on Aug. 26 for a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the third anniversary of a bombing which killed American soldiers during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. Army separately confirmed Trump’s staff “abruptly pushed” the female employee who was trying to uphold cemetery rules prohibiting recording and photographing for political purposes.
The Army also defended the cemetery official, saying her professionalism had been “unfairly attacked” after Trump aides claimed she was a “despicable individual” and “clearly suffering from a mental health episode” in public statements. Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung also claimed to have footage proving no physical altercation happened but has yet to reveal it.
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The woman in question reportedly chose not to press charges out of fear of retaliation from Trump supporters.
“The was no conflict or ‘fighting’ at Arlington National Cemetery last week,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday. “It was a made up story by Comrade Kamala and her misinformation squad. She made it all up to make up for the fact that she and Sleepy Joe have BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS for the INCOMPETENT AFGHANISTAN Withdrawal - THE MOST EMBARRASSING DAY IN U.S. HISTORY!!!”
Trump went on to write that Harris and Biden “should have been at Arlington, not on a beach or studying for a Debate.” Both Biden and Harris released statements honoring the victims of the attack at Abbey Gate outside Kabul Airport—in which 13 U.S. service members were killed—with White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby explaining that Trump’s visit to the cemetery had been a “personal invitation by families.” A White House official and a Harris aide told NBC News Sunday that Biden and Harris had not received similar invitations from Gold Star families.
Harris on Saturday released a statement on X accusing Trump of having “disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt,” with his cemetery visit. Trump pushed back over the weekend by replying to Harris’ post with videos from the family members of those killed in the Abbey Gate bombing, in which the relatives defend Trump’s actions at the cemetery while criticizing Harris.
One joint statement from the families shared by Trump said they’d been “appalled” by Harris’ “attempts to politicize” Trump’s visit to the cemetery. “President Trump was invited by us, the Gold Star families, to attend the solemn ceremonies commemorating the three-year anniversary of our children’s deaths,” the statement read. “He was there to honor their sacrifice, yet Vice President Harris has disgracefully twisted this sacred moment into a political ploy.”
Arlington National Cemetery said last week that federal law prohibits filming and taking photographs for political purposes in Section 60, an area of the site where recent American casualties are buried. The Army later confirmed Trump’s campaign had been made aware of the rules before his visit, adding that the cemetery official had “attempted to ensure adherence to these rules” when they were pushed aside.
“Thanks you [sic] to my friends, the GREAT GOLDS [sic] STAR FAMILIES, for revealing the TRUTH OF A BEAUTIFUL DAY OF HONOR,” Trump wrote in his post Tuesday. “Could not have been a nicer moment-And there were no fights or problems, only in the heads of those that are destroying our Country!”
