"Yesterday, the U.S. Army issued a stern rebuke to the Trump campaign over his visit on Monday to the Arlington National Cemetery...

The incident has blown up into a big issue, but not because the Trump campaign erroneously held a political event at the Arlington National Cemetery."

~ Robert Reich

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/1

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/trumps-cemetery-gate

Trump’s Cemeterygate

It was Trump on full display

Robert Reich

"It’s blown up because it’s a microcosm of Donald Trump’s moral squalor. ...

What happened at Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week was much more than an erroneous photo op. It was Trump on full display."

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/2

"The Army said that the cemetery hosts almost 3,000 public wreath-laying ceremonies a year without incident and that Trump and his staff 'were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and [Department of Defense] policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds'.”

~ Heather Cox Richardson

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/3

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-29-2024

August 29, 2024

And now the U.S.

Letters from an American

"It went on to say that a cemetery employee 'who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside…. This incident was unfortunate, & it is also unfortunate that the… employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. [Arlington National Cemetery] 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 & respect the nation’s fallen deserve.'”

#Arlington
/4

“'I don’t think I can adequately explain what a massive deal it is for the Army to make a statement like this,' political writer and veteran Allison Gill of Mueller, She Wrote, noted. 'The Pentagon avoids statements like this at all costs. But a draft dodging traitor decided to lie about our armed forces staff, so they went to paper.'”

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/5

Below is a screenshot of the headline for Josh Kovensky's report today at Daily Kos about the Army's statement re: Trump's desecration of Arlington National Cemetery:

"Army: Thousands of Events Are Held at Arlington. Only Trump Caused an Incident."

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/6

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/army-thousands-of-events-are-held-at-arlington-only-trump-caused-an-incident

Army: Thousands of Events Are Held at Arlington. Only Trump Caused an Incident.

The Army issued an extremely rare rebuke of the Trump campaign on Thursday, saying that it was warned not to turn a visit to Arlington National Cemetery into a political event. But he did.

TPM – Talking Points Memo

"The law aside, only a gross lack of manners, decency and humility could incline a person to film a fundraising appeal over the resting places of dead men and women who cannot decline to participate in the coarse spectacle. The photo of a grinning Trump giving a jaunty thumbs up over these patriots’ graves is an indelible image of narcissism risen to the point of sociopathy."

~ Kevin Carroll

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/7

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/30/trump-campaign-behavior-military-arlington-virginia

The Trump campaign’s conduct at Arlington is shocking but not surprising

Trump’s staffers filmed political footage at war graves – and allegedly shoved an army employee who tried to stop them

The Guardian

"At Arlington, it’s not a controversy. It’s a crime.

Who are we going to believe, Trump or the United States Army? ...

Assault is a crime, but the criming didn’t stop there."

~ John Stoehr

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/8

https://www.editorialboard.com/at-arlington-its-not-a-controversy-its-a-crime/

At Arlington, it’s not a controversy. It’s a crime

Who are we going to believe, Trump or the United States Army?

The Editorial Board.

"There’s nothing funny about Trump’s desecration of Arlington National Cemetery. Except perhaps the image of clueless Trump smiling like a moron giving the thumbs up in front of row upon row of the grave markers of fallen warriors. I mean, it’s deeply offensive. Repugnant in the extreme."

~ David Rothkopf

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/9

https://davidrothkopf.substack.com/p/nature-is-sending-you-a-message-about

Nature is Sending You a Message About Trump's Toxicity

The Phenomenon is Called "Aposematism"

Need to Know by David Rothkopf

"But it’s also the kind of dark cutting commentary on Trump’s zero I.Q. vileness that the best parodists in the world would be hard-pressed to imagine. He does this kind of thing alot, by the way. It’s because he is a monstrous person."

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/10

"It took real courage for the Arlington National Cemetery employee to try to enforce the rules in the face of Trump campaign threats and bullying. It’s understandable that she wasn’t willing to file a police report. It’s very possible that wouldn’t have ended well for her."

~ Mary Trump

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/11

https://www.marytrump.org/p/letting-it-slide

Letting It Slide

When Will It Be Enough?

The Good in Us by Mary L. Trump

"And that’s the real story—that private citizens are afraid to do the right thing because the Republican nominee to be president of the United States is a low-life criminal who doesn’t care what happens to anybody but him—as long as he gets his way."

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/12

"You know who I’d like to hear from on Arlington Cemetery Controversy? Senator Tom Cotton, who wrote in his book that Arlington 'transcend[s] politics' and that the ANC Reps are 'some of the most respectful, professional public servants.'"

~ Jim Swift

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans #TomCotton #Republicans
/13

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-manages-to-spoil-one-of-our

Trump Manages to Spoil One of Our Few Remaining Sacred Spaces

Plus: How Jack Smith's Re-Indictment of Trump Addresses SCOTUS Immunity Ruling

The Bulwark

Mike Luckovich commenting on Trump's foul political stunt exploiting the graves of deceased soldiers.

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/14

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/29/2266624/-Cartoon-The-foulest-photo-op

Cartoon: The foulest photo-op

A cartoon by Mike Luckovich. �

Daily Kos

"The nation’s honored dead did not die for this."

~ Greg Olear

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/15

https://gregolear.substack.com/p/cemetery-gate

Cemetery-Gate

At Arlington National Cemetery, Donald Trump desecrates the memory of our war dead

PREVAIL by Greg Olear

Don Moynihan's optic on the gross stunt pulled at Arlington National Cemetery:

"Arlington is a small moment that offers a big insight into what a second Trump administration might look like."

Moynihan sees five takeaways here:

1. Public service as a koke; public servants as props.

2. Responsiveness to the President = lawbreaking.

3. The Purpose of schedule F is to enable impunity.

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/16

https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/trumps-arlington-debacle-shows-us

Trump's Arlington Debacle Shows Us How He Will Govern

Five lessons about how a hyper-politicized Trump administration would abuse power

Can We Still Govern?

4. Media can get past both sides coverage.

5. The future is terror.

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/17

Noah Berlatsky thinks that, though there's strong resistance in some quarters to the use of the term "fascism" to describe what Trump and his minions are about, the Arlington drama shows us that "we are actually at the point where fascists are silencing people."

It shows us that fascism is already here in Trump and his thugs.

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/18

https://www.everythingishorrible.net/p/trumps-arlington-photoshoot-shows

Trump’s Arlington Photoshoot Shows That Fascism is Here

MAGA already has a functional system of authoritarian terror.

Everything Is Horrible

"Is this the worst thing Donald’s ever done? Not by a long-shot. But the combination of selfishness, thuggery, menace, and his willingness to bring the entire weight of his power to bear on a private American citizen is a pretty good encapsulation of everything that is wrong with and disqualifying about him.

It's time for corporate media to catch up and refuse to let this one go."

~ Mary Trump

#Trump #Arlington #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/19

https://www.marytrump.org/p/be-shocked

Be Shocked

Morning Dispatch

The Good in Us by Mary L. Trump
@wdlindsy Trump thinks, "They say I don't respect veterans. I'll show them! I'll do a photo op with the family of a veteran killed by Biden's bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan!" Then when it all goes awry because it is really about the photo op and not at all about respect, Trump doesn't understand why. He is trying to perform a simulacrum of an emotion he doesn't have, so of course it rings false. Now he is thinking, "I came all this way to this stupid cemetery, like I didn't do before, and they STILL criticize me." So now he plays the victim. He probably genuinely thinks he is the victim. He doesn't understand how to be a human being.