Harris says Trump ‘disrespected a sacred place’ at US military cemetery

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Saturday that her Republican rival Donald Trump had “disrespected sacred ground” at a U.S. military cemetery after reports that his campaign pushed a staffer during a politicized visit.

Trump’s visit to the cemetery, meant to boost his campaign ahead of the November election, instead turned into a public spat between the former president and the military.

“Let’s be clear: The former president disrespected sacred ground, all for a political stunt,” Harris said of Monday’s incident at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, where Trump was accompanying relatives of U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan.

“If there is one thing we as Americans can all agree on, it is that our veterans, military families and service members should be honored, never denigrated and treated with nothing less than our utmost respect and gratitude,” Harris wrote on X.

On Thursday, the US military confirmed that a cemetery staffer was removed after he asked Trump’s team to stop filming a burial section for those killed in recent wars, where photography is banned.

The military condemned the incident as “regrettable.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign went on the offensive, describing the staffer as a “despicable individual” and claiming she suffered from a mental health issue.

Trump has made criticizing Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal a campaign highlight, saying he would have handled it better.

He visited the cemetery with the families of some of the 13 service members killed in a bombing in Kabul in 2021, during the final hours of the US withdrawal.

After the visit to Arlington Cemetery, the Trump campaign released a photo of the former president standing with his loved ones and giving a thumbs-up gesture.

The outcry over the incident is the latest in a long line of controversies over Trump’s relationship with the military.

While often touting his support for the armed forces, he privately mocked war dead while president and did not want to be seen near military amputees, according to his former chief of staff.

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