If you want to see a classic case study of how the American media has degenerated into uselessness, look at how they’re handling the Arlington scuffle. They’ve been skirting around the issue, trying to avoid the blunt truth: the Trump campaign is run by a gang of boors who are incapable of courtesy and restraint. At least the Columbia Journalism Review tells it like it is.
On Tuesday, NPR’s Quil Lawrence and Tom Bowman broke the news that Trump and members of his campaign appeared to violate federal law during an appearance at Arlington to mark the third anniversary of the deadly attack on US troops that punctuated the deeply flawed withdrawal from Afghanistan. Members of Trump’s staff had sought to film the event for a campaign video, and got into an altercation with an Arlington National Cemetery staff member who tried to stop them. Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign official, strongly denied that any altercation had taken place and said the campaign was ready to release a video to prove his point. (They have yet to release it.) It wasn’t surprising that these two NPR pros with deep knowledge of the military, and sources among veterans, were the first with the news. The Washington Post followed with a story the same day, as did the New York Times. The public took note.
As more publications followed suit, the Arlington stories suffered a dreadful fate: they all started to sound the same. News outlets ended up with articles bogged down in parsing federal law, carefully defining what exactly counts as an altercation, and quoting milquetoast official statements like “There was an incident and a report was filed.”
Look. I’m a heretical atheist who is blunt and sometimes rude about disrespecting religious traditions, but even I know that you have to be kind and circumspect with grieving families (do I even need to say something so obvious?) I spent some time in civilian cemeteries in July, and even there I knew you don’t make a scene. You don’t annoy people in those circumstances, and you don’t make excuses. You apologize, you back away, you stop what you’re doing. Not the Trump campaign!
Lumped together, the reporting this week left readers and listeners, especially those with no knowledge of the military, at a loss to understand what actually happened—and, crucially, why it mattered so much. The Trump campaign team had successfully muddied the waters by alleging that the photographer had been invited to the event by family members of soldiers buried there.
I don’t care if you found someone who invited you to caper in a graveyard, you’re supposed to be considerate to all the people visiting. Trump was of course politicizing the most recent deaths so he can criticize Biden. It was tacky and inappropriate.
But as any veteran knows in their bones, the solemnity of the ceremony is exactly why the unauthorized photographer had no business being there—regardless of who invited them. Section 60, the part of the cemetery where the incident occurred, is one of the most sacred places for this generation of troops. It is where those who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. Those graves are visited not by tourists looking for historical figures, but by mothers and fathers visiting their fallen son or daughter. In Section 60, wounds are still raw. Political activity there is never appropriate, and under the law, only cemetery staffers and approved photographers are permitted to film or take pictures there.
Readers needed to know that, when you visit Arlington, you might not know exactly what you’re supposed to do when confronted by those rows of headstones, but you damn sure know what you’re not supposed to do. But the coverage this week left many readers with the impression that the whole thing might have been a bureaucratic mix-up, or some tedious violation of protocol. It focused on bland horse-race coverage so common during election season, rather than clearly stating what really took place: an egregious and willful violation of long-standing norms. What was missing from the coverage was a willingness to quickly and decisively state what a grievous insult the whole debacle was to the dignity of Arlington. The sacred had been profaned.
I don’t believe in the sacred, but otherwise, yes: the Trump campaign has insulted the military and the dead. Own it, Donald. Making excuses just makes it worse. It’s time for him to apologize…which may not be possible for him.
Own it? Apologize? Words that are not part of his vocabulary. It’s always blame somebody else or double down with insults to those complaining.
I live in Malaysia and all along the Malay Peninsula there are Commonwealth war cemeteries where Hindu, Muslim and Christian soldiers and probably a few others are buried. They are moving and sacred places. As an Australian I have visited Gallipoli where so many Australian and New Zealand soldiers are buried. I have walked the battlefields there and walked in the remains of trenches and onto “no man’s land” it is a sobering place. The though of a cowardly thug like Trump profaning places like that makes me sick. He is unfit to walk on the same soil and breathe the same air as people who serve and sacrifice and he is definitely unfit to be a leader of anything.
The Trump campaign has been leaning into this as their only excuse; that they were invited to attend by the family of a dead veteran. That does not suffice. The family has the right to invite Trump to meet them at their relative’s grave, and perhaps take a few personal photos, but they simply do not have the right to override military regulations and federal law to put out a campaign video of the event, and the Trump campaign did.
Ironic given the Trump campaign’s attempt to accuse Minnesota Governor Tim Walz of “stolen valor”.
The best current example of “stolen valor” is Donald Trump, who evaded the draft with faked bone spurs, exploiting military losses for publicity stunts.
Wanna bet they don’t really have it?
Slightly off topic. I read a few days ago, buried deep in an article on this subject, that the person who was bullied during the confrontation refused to press charges because he/she was afraid of retaliation from Trump’s supporters. That is a Trump win! Anytime someone doesn’t stand up to Trumps bullying, they are giving Trump a free pass. Oh, how Trump love free.
You don’t even need to be a veteran, or be visiting Arlington, to know that. Several years ago, my sister invited me to go lay some flowers on my parents’ graves. In a local catholic cemetery. The graves of people I despised. But whose funerals I quietly attended after they died. Did I want to go spit on those graves and shit on the catholic images there? Yes. But, after reflecting a while, I decided to be a grown-up, go lay the flowers with my sister, and act respectful. Because that’s what grown-ups do. I got in a shouting match with my sister in the car after we’d left the cemetery, because she damn well knew how I felt and was just trying to provoke me. Because that’s how grown-ups deal with things like that. Clearly there’s some people who don’t know–or don’t care–how to be grown-ups. They’re too busy pulling “political” stunts like the one described above.
Ironically, Trump’s excuse for a visit was the third anniversary of the departure from Afghanistan, and those deaths. But the media rarely mentions that Trump did and said nothing on the first or second anniversary. He only thinks of it in an election year, and the media repeats his script without context. The key context is that the evacuation was mandated by the agreement that Trump made, which forced Biden to do the withdrawal. And what benefit did the US get from releasing 5000 Taliban on Trump’s orders? We could have just left.
The photo that got me was the one with Tangerine Palpatine and, I guess, one of the “grieving” family members grinning like gibbons while displaying a thumbs-up gesture. Srsly, who does that?
Ah, yes, what a lark! Har, har, guffaw! Capering amongst the losers and suckers!
Will someone rid us of these characterless grifters?
Man, we need an LBJ-style ’64 landslide, but I fear that as a country our decline may be too great.
Having been to two funerals at Arlington, I understand why the place is so hallowed. I am a non-military guy and an atheist, but that place is very moving.
dstatton@10
I, too, am an atheist and wasn’t in the military but that doesn’t stop me from honoring those who were and who gave their lives in that service. I am in awe of the men and women who served in a war and who did and saw things that I can’t imagine. To have such a despicable person treat them as mere props in pursuit of something he is neither prepared for not is capable of is outrageous. I had previously thought my hatred of that man had reached a limit only to discover that it got pushed much, much further.
Larry @ # 1: Own it? … Words that are not part of his vocabulary.
I must disagree: Trump claims to own lots of stuff, even when his many creditors have liens on most of it.
Bruce @ # 8: … Trump’s excuse for a visit was the third anniversary of the departure from Afghanistan, and those deaths. But the media rarely mentions that Trump did and said nothing on the first or second anniversary…
And they never mention that the debacle came about because DJT flubbed the negotiations over US troop withdrawal. Pro tip: hand over the airbases after getting personnel out, not before.
Pierce R. Butler @ #12 — This needs highlighting by the media: “the debacle came about because DJT flubbed the negotiations over US troop withdrawal”. Clearly the cemetery stunt was intended to embarrass Biden, but the whole withdrawal mess of the falls on Trump’s shoulders.
No matter what and where standing beside a gravestone with a thumbs up and a grin on one’s face is decidedly not honoring the person under that gravestone.
Is Trump going to win the veteran vote?
Making him a loser in November is our only option since no one will send him to prison.
Come on, let’s cut through the BS.
Trump showed up at an event where other people were the focus. I think just about anyone could figure out that the “guests of honor” at a memorial service are the mourners (family and friends) as well as the deceased. Trump and his closest supporters had their usual reaction to being upstaged by anyone: they did something nasty to make it all about themselves.
Maybe the details could have been different but really, was there ever any chance him and his campaign would refrain from reacting inappropriately in that situation?
“Ah, yes, what a lark! Har, har, guffaw! Capering amongst the losers and suckers!”
This should be the text in big election posters. Under the photo of the grinning Trump.
“refused to press charges because he/she was afraid of retaliation from Trump’s supporters. That is a Trump win!”
As I have mentioned at Mano Singham’s blog, before Mussolini established total control there were many years during which he could have been stopped but the crimes he and his thugs comitted were not sanctioned. Bullying works.
Fortunately Trump and his inner circle are far more incompetent than the bald Italian.
My husband and son are both veterans. We both come from proud military families.
My father’s family had a member involved in every single war or conflict in which this nation has played a part since the Revolutionary War. My Dad, at the age of 17, stood on the deck of one of the ships in Pearl Harbor, watching as The Arizona sank. He also served in Korea and Vietnam.
He was so very proud that I married an AF officer and that our son served with the USMC in Iraq, also at the age of 17.
My husband’s great-uncle was one of the first to fly and fight in WWI. My husband looks just like him, and I have their pictures in uniform hanging side-by-side in our entrance-way. My husband’s father and all three of his brothers also served.
At the end of this year, he will retire after 43 years of service to the DOD – a combination of active duty, Reserves, and as a civilian employee.
A brand new National Cemetery has been opened on land that was part of Ft. Ord, very near where we live, overlooking the beautiful Monterey Bay.
We have been informed that both of our urns can be interred there, with full military honors for him.
I actually had to convince him that he deserves this! He keeps protesting that he doesn’t, since he has always been behind a computer, not deployed to a war zone.
As a flight test engineer, he installed and tested equipment on planes that kept the crews safe. As a cybersecurity expert, he’s done a lot to insure the safe functioning of the computers that troops rely upon. As a computer data analyst, he’s written programs that people who are stationed in sensitive areas of the world use daily to process information coming from all over the planet. He’s definitely a hero in my eyes!
I’ve watched his face when we see reports of trump’s desecration of Arlington on TV. I can see the anger on his face.
Our proud military family definitely has been angered by this.
Extra “big FU” to Trump: the 13 fatalities during the withdrawal from Kabul was from a suicide bomber…
…that had been released from prison because of Trump’s deal with the Taliban.
The bereaved survivors should have beaten that worthless asshole to death, right then and there.
As he and his flunkies are boors it would hilarious if the Pope travelled to Florida while Trump is still alive. He has absolutely no tact. He would get in front of the Popemobile so the press and TV crews could make it all about him, and he would make jokes about the way the Pope and other priests dress. And he might ask the Pope why he and the other catholics do the circumcision thing. There is no bottom.
I would love to see the video of the altercation which the execrable Steven Cheung claims exists. I would be demanding said video footage if I was the Administrator of Arlington.
I’m sure the pro- wrestling promoter would attempt to alter the footage, since I’m sure it documents him being a raging ass-hat to the employees who tried to stop them from staging a circus at a memorial service. Getting that Jabba the Hut lookalike out in front of the public eye would be terribly revealing in the court of public opinion. I hope it leaks.
Between the debate and his upcoming sentencing in the NY felony fraud convictions, tfg is about to have a truly terrible September.
We weren’t there illegally photographing, and we have the videos to prove it!
Larry @1) “It’s always blame somebody else or double down with insults to those complaining.”
Or “I don’t know him/her, I don’t know anything about whatever it is you’re talking about. I know nothing, nobody knows less about the thing than I do! And I know that better than anyone has ever known that.”
Mom Who Invited Trump to Arlington Cemetery Argues ‘No Political Campaigning’ Was Done
“That is not an elephant in the room. It is a coat rack, a window shade, and four footstools.”
“…Because we want to celebrate our loved ones, and it’s very hard to find ways to do that at, you know, at a cemetery, but they were very respectful.”
There’s PLENTY of places to celebrate any damn thing you want to celebrate. Just go to a classy pub (or someone’s favorite dive, there’s a nice redneck pub near my house where they’re all about veterans and fallen heroes), get a big table, and have a round of loud proud toasts to fallen heroes and loved ones lost. Norse Heathens do that sort of thing all the time, just AFAIK not at cemeteries. I’ve also seen drinking-horns laid at the Vietnam memorial (NOT a cemetery), and that may have been done at other war memorials.
Also, who, exactly, were being “very respectful” here? Who’s this “they” this person is talking about?
The photo that got me was the one with Tangerine Palpatine and, I guess, one of the “grieving” family members grinning like gibbons while displaying a thumbs-up gesture. Srsly, who does that?
Well, they all went there for the photo-op, so it’s up to us to make the most of it! That’s what Trump and his team wanted, right?
(Speaking of which, how much airplay is that photo getting?)
@15. whywhywhy : “Is Trump going to win the veteran vote?
Making him a loser in November is our only option since no one will send him to prison.”
Actually Judge Juan Merchan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Merchan) migfht soon – hopefully!
dstatton@10:
I’m not surprised; you believe those there made a greater sacrifice than theists typically believe. (Which would you rather? Cease to exist, or be permanently deported to, but also have a secure retirement on, some tropical paradise full of gorgeous MOTAS?)
I saw the photo to which Doc Bill, Charly & Raging Bee refer on Mano’s blog.
Here it is.
It’s jaw dropping. Who the fuck grins and does a thumbs up over someone’s tombstone? (I mean unless it’s Hitler. Who doesn’t have a tombstone.) How can one be so disassociated from normal decency they don’t realize how horrific that looks? Not just Trump – but all his minders were okay with it?!
The young woman to Trump’s left is also giving some sort of hand-signal. Does that pinky-and-index-finger-up gesture mean anything in particular these days?
Raging Bee
It means ‘I love you’
I’m a veteran too and the antics the orange asshole gets away with makes me feel incensed. And just as bad is the poor dead guy has family that were willing to invite shitstain Trump to a funeral…as if there could be any other outcome besides a photo op.
The confrontaiton was just a bonus.