Trump’s Arlington Cemetery Campaign Event

Trump lies so much, is horrible so much, and so on that it at some point becomes standard fare. The normalcy of it all benefits him. 

So, for instance, yes the news of a new indictment in the D.C. criminal trial (he has four) isn't big "news." There has been an attempt to prosecute him for years now. There seems to be always some new wrinkle. It does get boring on some level.  Ho hum. 

We need to try to avoid that. It helps that there keeps on being new fodder. Novelty helps overcome resigned normalcy. See also, Vance being an asshole.

Three days ago, the Trump campaign held a campaign event at Arlington National Cemetery. The idea was to lay a wreath honoring the 13 members of the U.S. military who were killed during the evacuation of Kabul in 2021 and film a political ad.

Let's not ignore the bullshit framing here. President Biden got us out of Afghanistan. We were already on the road there via Trump's own timetable. 

There was pressure not to leave. It was a major accomplishment, getting us out of a quagmire. Likewise, the idea no soldier was lost under his watch is false. It's a lie. The ad is based on bullshit.

Okay. Another problem is that there are rules against making military cemeteries -- hallowed ground in the minds of many people, especially veterans and the families of the dead -- into a photo op. 

A cemetery employee tried to prevent the Trump campaign from filming and photographing. The campaign was warned ahead of the event of the rules. 

The Washington Post cited multiple previous episodes where Trump politicized the military in ways actual military personnel found disgusting. 

The campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the official aside. The official, fearing retaliation, did not press charges. The Trump campaign denied any wrongdoing, taking potshots at the official. She had a “mental health episode” was “despicable” and a “disgrace,” and not deserving to have her job.

Again, this is not some one-off. As Politico noted:

The incident is the latest in a string of controversies involving Trump and veterans. On Aug. 15, he said the civilian President Medal of Freedom was “much better” than the military’s Medal of Honor because recipients of the military’s highest award for valor are “either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead.”

One family gave Trump permission to film and take photographs. However, it is not like there is only one grave. Therefore, it is unsurprising another family was not happy. Anyway, permission doesn't overrule the rules in place.

The Army is not happy about the whole affair, releasing a rare criticism:

This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.

We are dealing with disgraceful lying bullies. Republicans as a whole are endorsing them. Voters should remember.