Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was recently blasted by Gold Star family members who accused the Democratic presidential candidate of using a Monday event at Arlington National Cemetery for political purposes.
The messages were posted on the Instagram account of former President Trump. Eight videos, each featuring different parents of service members murdered by ISIS-K terrorists amidst the American withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 26, 2021, were published in their entirety.
The videos were released in the wake of a statement published by Harris on Saturday, in which the vice president criticized the former president for taking photographs at a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday. This week, the Army said an Arlington National Cemetery official was “abruptly pushed aside” while interacting with Trump’s staff members.
“As Vice President, I have had the privilege of visiting Arlington National Cemetery several times,” said Harris. “It is not a place for politics. And yet, as was reported this week, Donald Trump’s team chose to film a video there, resulting in an altercation with cemetery staff.”
“Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt,” Harris claimed before she added that she would “never politicize” such an event.
Gold Star families maintain they are the ones who asked Trump for photos
Gold Star family members maintained they were the ones who asked Trump for photographs, as compared to Trump using the photos to advance his campaign. In one video, the father of Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz called the post “heinous, vile and disgusting.”
“Why did we want Trump there? It wasn’t to help his political campaign,” said Mark Schmitz in the video. “We wanted a leader. That explains why you and Joe didn’t get a call.”
Darren Hoover, the father of Marine Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover, said that Harris lacks “empathy and basic understanding” about the Monday event and emphasized that Trump’s appearance was respectful.
“In keeping with the reverence and respect that is given to all members of our military that are buried there, we invited President Trump,” said Hoover. “We are the ones that asked for the video and the pictures to be taken at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.”
Hoover additionally added that the former president has “been there for us from the very beginning” and lambasted VP Harris for “playing politics” over the incident.
“You should be ashamed and embarrassed [about] your lack of empathy and decency as a human being,” added the father. “You are only in this for power and prestige. You don’t care for our military or the citizens of this country. You should hang you head in shame at your actions or lack therof.”
