(Headline USA) Vice President Kamala Harris, who boasted of being the “last person in the room” to sign off in support of President Joe Biden’s catostrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, lashed out at her Republican rival for his support of gold-star families on the third anniversary of a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. servicemembers and many others.
As Vice President, I have had the privilege of visiting Arlington National Cemetery several times. It is a solemn place; a place where we come together to honor American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of this nation.
It is not a place for politics.
And…
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 31, 2024
The families had invited former President Donald Trump to the wreath-laying ceremony last Monday, while Harris was ostensibly on the campaign trail and Biden, now a lame-duck president, was presumed to be vacationing in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
“President Trump was invited by us, the Gold Star families, to attend the solemn ceremonies commemorating the three-year anniversary of our children’s deaths,” said the relatives’ joint statement on Sunday. “He was there to honor their sacrifice, yet Vice President Harris has disgracefully twisted this sacred moment into a political ploy.”
Nonetheless, the Democrat presidential nominee claimed that the show of solidarity with bereaved parents was a political ploy that “disrespected sacred ground”
Led by the left-wing propaganda outlet NPR, media used the occasion to launch a fake smear attack on Trump, claiming the Republican nominee took and distributed images despite a federal prohibition on campaign activity on the grounds.
Trump campaign officials contend that they had permission from the parents to take photos—including at the graves of Afghanistan war veterans—and that a partisan Biden administration official had unnecessarily created a scene during the solemn occasion.
Harris, however, alleged that Trump’s campaign aides initiated the altercation with a cemetery staffer after being warned about rules at the site.
“Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt,” Harris said, calling Arlington a “solemn place where we come together to honor American heroes … not a place for politics.”
However, that didn’t stop Harris from using the phony media frenzy concocted in the aftermath of the event—which was optically devastating for the callous Democrat campaign—to launch a political attack of her own.
Harris’s campaign has come under attack for her selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has been accused of “stolen valor” for lying about his military service.
In her statement on Saturday, Harris sought to deflect from Democrats’ own foreign policy and defense liabilities by alluding to a debunked claim that Trump had “called our fallen service members ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’ and disparaged Medal of Honor recipients.”
“This is a man who is unable to comprehend anything other than service to himself,” Harris claimed, uttering a line that Democrats have repeatedly pushed as one of their anti-Trump talking points.
“I will always honor the service and sacrifice of all of America’s fallen heroes,” she claimed, despite haveing been a no-show at event. “… And I will never politicize them.”
Trump laid wreaths in honor of Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss. They were among 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans who died in an Aug. 26, 2021, bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Among the others present was former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, an active-duty commander in the National Reserve.
Biden Pentagon officials claimed that two Trump campaign staff members allegedly “verbally abused and pushed” aside an Arlington employee, although the individual has declined to press charges.
The Trump campaign has since slammed the Pentagon officials who promoted the claim, with a top campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, referring to the military spokespersons as “hacks.”
Trump issued his own statement on Sunday, thanking the Gold Star families for coming to his defense in light of the baseless political attack.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 1, 2024
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
