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."

The cemetery, which is operated by the U.S. Army, on its website has a media policy for Army National Military Cemeteries.

The policy says, "Filming or photographing will not be permitted if it conveys the impression that cemetery officials or any visitor or family member is endorsing any product, service or organization. Additionally, ANC will not authorize any filming for partisan, political or fundraising purposes, in accordance with the Hatch Act, 32 CFR 553, and AR 360-1."

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, which says, "Get info on U.S. elections."

Dan Scavino, a senior advisor to Trump's campaign, posted a video of Trump at Arlington on the social media site X.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung in a statement Tuesday night denied there was a physical altercation and said "we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made."

"A private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony," Cheung said.

Trump campaign senior advisor Chris LaCivita said Wednesday, "A nameless bureaucrat at Arlington whose job it is to preserve the dignity of the cemetery is doing the complete opposite in trying to make what was a very solemn and respectful event into something it was not."

Speaking to NBC News, LaCivita also said Harris' campaign and other Trump critics, by talking about the incident, are "trying to muddle the fact that there was only one commander in chief in Arlington on August 26th."

He was referring to the fact that President Joe Biden, who was president when the service members were killed in Kabul, did not visit Arlington on the anniversary of their deaths Tuesday. Harris also did not visit the cemetery that day.

LaCivita, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, also posted images of Trump's visit to Arlington on social media.

On Tuesday night, he posted an image of Trump posing with family members of fallen military members at Arlington and a statement from relatives of two Marines who died in the Kabul attack, Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee.

"We had given our approval for President Trump's official videographer and photographer to attend the event," the statement read, "ensuring these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured and so we can cherish these memories forever."