As Donald Trump’s Arlington National Cemetery scandal grows deeper and deeper, his campaign co-manager and senior advisor, Chris LaCivita, is lashing out at the Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth, after the Dept. of the Army issued a “rare” yet “stark rebuke,” as CNN reported, of the campaign’s efforts to politicize the cemetery where 400,000 service members, many of whom gave their lives for their country, are buried.
Secretary Wormuth is the first woman to become Secretary of the Army. The Trump campaign and Donald Trump himself have been attacking women recently. The cemetery official who filed a report allegedly stating they had been verbally and physically accosted is a woman. Trump himself made a sexual and sexist attack on Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic political opponent, just this morning. The Guardian described it as a “lewd” and “crudely misogynistic comment,” originally posted by another Truth Social user. On Wednesday, WIRED published a story titled, “The Trump Campaign’s Rhetoric About Women Sounds a Lot Like Andrew Tate’s.”
“As the Trump campaign overtly appeals to the manosphere, a WIRED investigation shows that the view of women espoused by alleged rapist and trafficker Andrew Tate matches perfectly with that of Trump and his allies,” the news site reported.
Chris LaCivita is a Republican strategist perhaps best-known as the architect of the manufactured and debunked “Swiftboat” smear campaign against Democratic 2004 presidential nominee John Kerry and his military record.
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On Monday, Trump and several of his top campaign aides attended a wreath-laying ceremony held by two Gold Star families whose loved ones were among the 13 service members who died three years earlier in the suicide bombing attack on Abbey Gate at the Kabul airport on Afghanistan. The Dept. of the Army, which oversees Arlington National Cemetery, had warned Trump he could attend but only as a private individual, and no campaign staffers would be allowed. It also informed him of other restrictions, in keeping with both ANC policy and federal law. It is a violation of federal law to use Arlington National Cemetery for political purposes or events.
But Trump ignored those rules and regulations, according to the Army, which defended a cemetery official who reportedly alleges Trump campaign staffers pushed her out of their way, in a physical and verbal assault as she tried to enforce the cemetery’s rules.
The Trump campaign also shot photographs and video, and released video on several social media platforms, in apparent violation of federal law.
“Arlington National Cemetery routinely hosts public wreath laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for individuals and groups who submit requests in advance. ANC conducts nearly 3,000 such public ceremonies a year without incident,” the Army’s statement reads, according to Talking Points Memo.
“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed.”
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“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC 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 and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.”
The Trump campaign on Tuesday edited its captured video from the Arlington events into a TikTok video (here), complete with music and Trump’s commentary as the narration.
On Monday, LaCivita had posted this short clip:
Arlington Cemetery…. pic.twitter.com/YRlQl131Qr
— Chris LaCivita (@LaCivitaC) August 26, 2024
On Thursday, he responded to the Army’s rebuke by reposting that video and writing: “Reposting this hoping to trigger the hacks at @SecArmy,” referring to the Secretary of the Army. He could have tagged the U.S. Army’s account, @USArmy, but instead LaCivita targeted Secretary Wormuth’s official government account.
Critics blasted the LaCivita and the Trump campaign.
“The Trump campaign has spent the day beefing with the Army, Arlington National Cemetery, and firefighters,” observed journalist Mike Rothschild, an expert on conspiracy theories and has testified before Congress. “What American institutions will they beef with tomorrow? Astronauts? Kool and the Gang? Bald eagles?”
“So the ‘we love the troops’ crowd is actively trolling the U.S. Army, posting disrespectful politicization of our most hallowed national cemetery to ‘trigger’ people,” noted Daily KOS founder Markos Moulitsas. “Trump and his minions have bizarrely decided they’re on the ‘fuck the vets’ side. (And yes, I’m a vet).”
The New Republic reports, “LaCivita’s words are unlikely to help Trump’s efforts to attract more veterans to his side. The Republican presidential nominee’s anti-military rhetoric has been a point of contention with current and former service members in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the reputed Vietnam-era draft dodger came under fire for arguing that the Presidential Medal of Freedom he awarded to one of his billionaire donors was ‘much better’ than the nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. That comment struck a nerve with veterans, who connected Trump’s disrespectful rhetoric to a 2020 Atlantic report that caught the former president repeatedly referring to fallen soldiers as ‘suckers and losers.’”
Watch the video above or at this link.
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