Why Trump’s ‘incident’ at Arlington National Cemetery matters

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-incident-arlington-national-cemetery-matters-rcna168577

44 Comments

  1. It won’t matter because disrespecting the military is a common theme for Trump. This won’t change the mind of people who have stuck with him to this point.

    But it is a pretty hilarious own goal by the Trump campaign. Even outside of assaulting a staff member at the Arlington National Cemetery and violating federal law, the photo op itself was in incredibly poor taste (smiling with a thumbs up next to soldiers’ graves).

  2. What a shame that Trump and his people disrespect and violate the code at Arlington. It’s even worse when they insinuate that the person who tried to enforce the code had a mental problem. These people care for nothing except themselves.

    Everyone must go vote in November. Vote straight Blue to scrub any possibility of power from Trump and his MAGA party once and for all. That’s the only way that we can restore dignity to the country.

  3. code_archeologist on

    From the description of it, there were at least two felonies committed.

    * obstructing a federal official in the execution of their duties
    * assault and battery (when they pushed the park official)

  4. Extreme_Lunch_8744 on

    The aide should be charged with battery, Trump campaign should be fined for violating the law. Immediately.

  5. At almost 1pm eastern time, after an entire morning of hearing about how utterly distasteful Trumps thumbs up photo op & incident with Arlington National Cemetery officials was, Trump posted videos of his time at Arlington on his IG.

    Trump doesn’t give a flying fuck about who he offends. And neither do his clueless MAGA cult members.

    Federal laws governing our national cemeteries mean nothing to a convicted felon.

  6. Infinite_Escape9683 on

    “it’s hard not to wonder what the political world’s reaction might be if a Democratic candidate were caught up in a similar controversy”

    Why do we keep fucking doing this? It doesn’t matter. There’s no equivalence. There’s no fairness. They’re not going to suddenly grow a sense of shame.

  7. MyNameIsFluffy on

    I haven’t heard it mentioned, but Trump is still on pretrial release in MULTIPLE felony cases where one condition of release is not committing any crimes.  This is a clear violation of those release conditions.

  8. >This included attending [a wreath-laying ceremony](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/26/trump-harris-military/) at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, quickly followed by [a thumbs-up photo-op](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/us/politics/trump-arlington-cemetery-clash.html) at a gravestone in Section 60 of the cemetery, where many service members killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried.

    The bone spur drama queen once again shows that no one matters but himself.

  9. This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-incident-arlington-national-cemetery-matters-rcna168577) reduced by 87%. (I’m a bot)
    *****
    > A source with knowledge of the incident said the cemetery official tried to prevent Trump staffers from filming and photographing in a section where recent U.S. casualties are buried.

    > A related NBC News report noted that Arlington National Cemetery officials confirmed in a statement that there was "An incident" on Monday.

    > For its part, Trump communications director Steven Cheung denied any wrongdoing and accused an Arlington National Cemetery official of "Suffering from a mental health episode" during the incident.

    *****
    [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/1f3gfao/why_trumps_incident_at_arlington_national/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ “Version 2.02, ~693035 tl;drs so far.”) | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr “PM’s and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.”) | *Top* *keywords*: **Cemetery**^#1 **official**^#2 **Trump**^#3 **members**^#4 **Arlington**^#5

  10. LoadedTaterSkins on

    Reddit somehow served me /r/trump and they were hailing it as the greatest show of support of the military in history, saying that Biden and Harris’ absence should automatically disqualify them from office.

    They have zero fucking sense.

  11. CommissarPenguin on

    It matters because he broke the law again. But it doesn’t matter because he’ll get away with it, AGAIN.

  12. The media needs to start holding this guy accountable. If he doesn’t answer, ask again. If he runs away, show it, tell us. Then next time he takes questions, ask again, and repeat.

    I would think that journalists would like to see their profession continue…solidarity!

    And I have no problem with media doing this to the other side. But it’s been an unlevel playing field for dumpy and we all know that. The Arlington thing alone should be a gigantic scandal!

  13. enjoyyourstudioapart on

    MF fomented an insurrection and HAS ALREADY used dead soldiers and orphans as props for his PR stunts. You think I’m going to be shocked at this? This is on-brand for a fascist narcissist with dementia.

  14. He was only trying to prove that he’s a sleaze that he can downgrade people right in front of poor people that are there to celebrate the following of soldier. He’s a disgrace.

  15. I think it’s naive to think that after all the things he’s done in the last decade, someone will read about this incident and say “well that’s the line he crossed where I can no longer follow him. It wasn’t any of the thousand other lines he crossed.”

  16. Fuck you MSNBC. “Incident”? You mean blatant political stunt giving a thumbs up and beaming while standing with a grieving mother over her DEAD son’s grave.

    Sick fuck. weirdo.

  17. Nonadventures on

    I know a million op-ed mean nothing, but it’s satisfying to see this sad attempt at a political gotcha backfire so spectacularly.

  18. SingingLaLaLaLaLa on

    Just imagine what kind of political ads they were planning to make with those photo ops. ✨ TrUmP CaReS AbOuT ~~SuCkErS AnD LoSeRs~~ OuR MiLiTaRy SeRVicEMeN ✨ Uh huh. 😒 Sure.

  19. I’m more concerned about him running a shadow foreign policy behind the Biden administration’s back. Isn’t that illegal?

  20. Because it perfectly exemplifies that he is not fit to function in a civilized society.

  21. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Rich people can do whatever they want with zero accountability.

  22. artsatisfied229 on

    What an absolute clown of a human being. All ego, no genuine respect for anyone.

  23. AccomplishedBrain309 on

    Because he believes he is above the law. He continually disrespect authority. He continually disrespects our veterans and heroes. He is a draft dodger that cheats and steals from every American. A real loser!

  24. Who are they kidding? This is the guy that hugs and kisses the American flag, and thinks that’s patriotism. Apparently millions of Americans agree with that. He’s a fraud and couldn’t give less of a shit about soldiers, dead or alive.

  25. “These dead suckers and losers are my campaign props. Thumbs up! I’m happy because this particular dead soldier is good for my campaign!” —Donald Trump

  26. It matters because he has made a mockery of the United States Military and Arlington.

    His unpatriotic and disgusting behavior of having a *political photo op* at Arlington is sickening.

  27. …but, in the end, it doesn’t “matter” in the sense that there will be no repercussions.

  28. A preponderance of the shit he has done should matter but somehow it NEVER FUCKING DOES.

    Somebody make it make GD sense.

    10+ years of this.

  29. mudriverrat07020 on

    Think about how much this sickens you, angered you, just added fuel to your disgust for this man. Then put a dollar figure on it and donate that amount to the Harris campaign. Every time he pulls a stunt that we know he will not be held accountable for, do the same thing. At least we can make it hurt. I, as a United States Marine, just donated another $100.00 to the Harris campaign.

  30. He had people storm the capital building and brought in randos to certify fake ballots. Why would he care about a honoring cemetery?

  31. The Image he is trying to project is just another one of his many cons. He doesn’t care about veterans, this was just a cheap photo op. He knew it was not allowed, but his thugs are willing to attack anyone who tries to stop him.