Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as she holds a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Vice President Kamala Harris said former President Donald Trump “disrespected sacred ground” in his recent appearance at Arlington National Cemetery, where the Republican nominee took and distributed images despite a federal prohibition on campaign activity on the grounds.

Ms. Harris, in a statement posted Saturday on the social media platform X, cited reports that Mr. Trump’s campaign aides created an altercation with a cemetery staffer and proceeded to take photographs and film the former President, including at the graves of Afghanistan war veterans, 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,” Ms. Harris said, calling Arlington a “solemn place where we come together to honor American heroes … not a place for politics.”

The original incident stemmed from Mr. Trump’s and Republicans’ continued criticism of President Joe Biden and now Ms. Harris for the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. At the invitation of some family members of service members killed during the withdrawal, Mr. Trump laid wreaths last Monday 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.

Mr. Trump’s campaign was warned about not taking photographs before an altercation at the cemetery, according to defense officials. Officials have said since that an Arlington employee whom two Trump campaign staff members allegedly “verbally abused and pushed” aside has declined to press charges. The Trump campaign has since lashed out at Pentagon officials, with a top campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, referring to military spokespersons as “hacks.” Trump campaign officials say it had permission to bring someone to take video.

Since Mr. Biden ended his reelection bid, Mr. Trump has been zeroing in on Ms. Harris and her roles in foreign policy decisions. He has specifically highlighted the Vice President’s statements that she was the last person in the room before Mr. Biden made the decision on Afghanistan.

Biden’s administration was following a withdrawal commitment and timeline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban in 2020. A 2022 review by a government-appointed special investigator concluded decisions made by both Trump and Biden were the key factors leading to the rapid collapse of Afghanistan’s military and the Taliban takeover.

Ms. Harris on Saturday alluded to Mr. Trump’s history of picking fights with veterans and repeated allegations that he has “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,” Ms. Harris said. “I will always honor the service and sacrifice of all of America’s fallen heroes. … And I will never politicize them.”

Two members of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign staff had a “verbal and physical altercation” with an Arlington National Cemetery official during a visit by Trump this week, NPR reported on Tuesday.

Trump on Monday participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery honoring the 13 servicemembers killed during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Later in Detroit, Trump blamed Vice Preisdent Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival for the White House, and President Joe Biden for what he termed a “catastrophic” withdrawal.

Citing an unnamed source, NPR reported that when a cemetery official tried to prevent Trump campaign staffers from filming and photographing in an area where servicemembers are buried, the Trump staff “verbally abused and pushed the official aside.”

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung disputed the report. “There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” Cheung said.

“The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”

Arlington National Cemetery confirmed in a statement that an incident had occurred and that a report was filed.

“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign,” the cemetery said.

It did not respond to requests for a copy of the report or an explanation of why the Trump campaign was allowed to visit the cemetery as part of his campaign.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)