Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference in Daytona Beach on Sept. 3, 2024. (Screenshot via the governor’s X livestream.)
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday defended former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery, which violated federal regulations and, the Army said, featured an alleged assault by Trump’s staff against a cemetery staff member.
“I don’t see the outrage,” DeSantis said during a news conference in Daytona Beach highlighting state initiatives to address nursing shortages.
The event happened more than a week ago but DeSantis referenced a more recent reaction from Vice President Kamala Harris, who on Saturday said in a social media statement that the cemetery “is not a place for politics.”
“But here’s the thing: If people like Harris and the media are going to express more outrage at that than the people that made them Gold Star families in the first place, something is wrong. That is unacceptable,” DeSantis said.
The ceremony at Arlington was ostensibly to honor 13 service members who died in a suicide bombing at a check point outside Kabul Airport during the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago.
Trump posed for photos with families, most holding their thumbs up, in Section 60, an area in the military cemetery primarily reserved for those who died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A Trump campaign staffer “abruptly pushed aside” a cemetery staff member attempting to enforce a rule against taking photographs, according to an Army statement.
Families of the service members who died during the withdrawal have defended Trump, saying they invited him to Arlington. Some family members of the fallen spoke at the Republican National Convention in support of Trump.
‘Suckers,’ ‘losers’
Harris vowed to never politicize fallen service members and referenced previous remarks in which Trump referred to fallen service members as “suckers” and “losers.”
“Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt,” Harris said.
The cemetery prohibits filming for fundraising or campaign purposes. Trump’s campaign posted a TikTok featuring footage from the ceremony.
A Trump campaign spokesperson alleged the cemetery staff member trying to prevent the group from filming in the cemetery was suffering from a mental health episode, according to NPR.
In its statement, the Army stood by the actions and professionalism of the cemetery staff member, who declined to press charges rather than risk retaliation from Trump supporters, The New York Times reported.
Trump, his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, and DeSantis have emphasized that Trump was invited to the service by the families. Still, those relatives lack power to suspend federal cemetery rules.
“He was invited by the Gold Star families. He didn’t just show up to make a scene. They invited him to be there. They asked him to pose for photos with the family members of the fallen,” DeSantis said.
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