Trump Arlington cemetery incident ‘pretty sad,’ Harris campaign says

Vice President Kamala Harris‘ presidential campaign said a reported physical confrontation between former President Donald Trump‘s campaign aides and an official at Arlington National Cemetery was “pretty sad,” but “it’s not surprising coming from the Trump team.”

“Listen, this is what we’ve come to expect from Donald Trump and his team,” Harris campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said in a CNN interview Wednesday. Arlington cemetery confirmed late Tuesday that an “incident” had occurred, and reiterated that federal law bars candidates and campaigns from conducting political campaign activities in national military cemeteries.

NPR reported Tuesday night that two members of the Republican nominee’s campaign got into a verbal and physical altercation with an Arlington cemetery official Monday, when Trump arrived at the hallowed site with photographers and an entourage, to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony in a designated section where recent U.S. military casualties are buried.

A source told NPR that the official attempted to stop Trump staffers “from filming and photographing in the section” during the event, which commemorated the third anniversary of the death of 13 U.S. service members who were killed in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport during the evacuation of Afghanistan.

“Donald Trump is a person who wants to make everything all about Donald Trump. He’s also somebody who has a history of demeaning and degrading military service members, those who have given the ultimate sacrifice,” Tyler said Wednesday on CNN.

“I think it’s part of what the American people have come to reject when it comes to Donald Trump. They’re sick of the toxic brand of politics,” Tyler said.

“They’re sick of the MAGA extremism, and they’re sick of a person who, no matter what the issue is, is frankly just trying to serve himself rather than doing what one should be doing as a leader, which is fighting for the American people.”

In a statement Tuesday night, Arlington confirmed “there was an incident” and that “a report was filed.”

“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign,” the cemetery said.

“Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants.”

In the days following his Trump’s visit, his campaign has posted videos and photos of the event on social media, including a TikTok video of him at Arlington.

Trump can be seen in photos next to the graves of two Marines who died in the Kabul attack, smiling and giving a thumbs-up pose standing next to their family members.

The post also contains a tag that TikTok adds to some political content,…