September 1st 2024.
On Sunday, a statement was released by Donald Trump's campaign on behalf of Gold Star military families who had invited him to Arlington National Cemetery. The families were defending Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, against accusations made by Vice President Kamala Harris that he had politicized the deaths of U.S. service members. This was just the latest exchange in a back and forth between the two as Trump tries to shift blame onto Harris for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, including a suicide bombing that claimed the lives of 13 service members.
In response, Harris had accused Trump of using the visit to Arlington as a "political stunt" that disrespected the sacred ground where many Afghanistan war dead are buried. However, the families of those killed in the bombing, as well as Trump himself, hold Harris accountable for their loved ones' deaths, just as they did with President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the presidential race. The families maintain that Trump was simply honoring their loved ones when he visited Arlington and that the former president was invited by them. Despite the cemetery's rules against partisan activities, the Trump campaign had distributed images of the visit.
The families' joint statement read, "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. He was there to honor their sacrifice, yet Vice President Harris has disgracefully twisted this sacred moment into a political ploy." For those who may not know, Gold Star families are those who have lost a loved one in military service.
During his visit to Arlington, Trump had laid wreaths in honor of Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover, and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, among others. These brave individuals were among the 13 U.S. service members and over 100 Afghans who lost their lives in a bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 26, 2021, during the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Trump expressed his gratitude for the families' statement via social media, writing, "Thank you for saying you wanted me to stand with you and take pictures. It was your request, not mine."
Over the weekend, Trump had used his social media accounts to share video testimonials from some of the relatives who had signed the statement. In one such video, Christy Shamblin, mother-in-law of Sgt. Nicole Gee, spoke for 90 seconds, thanking Trump and his team for their respect and comfort during the solemn ceremonies at Arlington. She then directed her words to Harris, asking, "Why won't you return my call and explain how you call my daughter-in-law's death a success? Why would you take a day where we celebrated the deaths of our loved ones and use it to disparage not only them, but us?"
It is worth noting that, in 2021, then-President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden had gone to Dover Air Force Base for a ceremony upon the return of the service members' remains to U.S. soil. The Bidens had met privately with family members at Dover, and other top officials from the administration, such as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had also attended the ceremony. Shamblin was among several family members who had spoken at the Republican National Convention in July on behalf of Trump. Some of these family members, including Shamblin, had also joined Trump's running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, on a media conference call.
However, Trump's visit to Arlington had sparked controversy when it was reported that his campaign had been warned against taking photographs and that there had been an altercation between Trump's aides and a cemetery employee. While the employee had declined to press charges against two Trump campaign staff members who had allegedly verbally abused and pushed them, the campaign had lashed out at Pentagon officials, with one of Trump's top advisors referring to military spokespersons as "hacks." The campaign maintains that they had permission to bring someone to take videos.
Since Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July, Trump has been focusing on Harris and her role in foreign policy decisions. More specifically, he has highlighted her statements about being the last person in the room before Biden made the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. However, it is important to note that Biden's administration was following through on a withdrawal commitment and timeline that had been negotiated with the Taliban by the Trump administration in 2020. A review conducted in 2022 by a government-appointed special investigator found that decisions made by both Trump and Biden were the primary factors leading to the rapid collapse of Afghanistan's military and the subsequent takeover by the Taliban.
During his current presidential campaign, Trump has stated that leaving Afghanistan was the right thing to do, but he believes the execution by the Biden administration was poor. As he put it in a recent speech in Michigan, "We were going to do it with dignity and strength."
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