Khizr Khan, father of 27-year-old Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was awarded a Bronze star following his death in 2004 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, speaks about Trump's obscene stunt of staging a political photo-op in the cemetery:
“It is appetite and ego, wherever he goes, whatever he does, wherever he stands."
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/1
https://www.thedailybeast.com/gold-star-father-appalled-by-trumps-arlington-trip-there-to-exploit
"Monday’s wreath-laying at Arlington was, in part, Trump’s attempt to clean up the mess he has created [by disrespecting miltary service and veterans], and to establish some credibility as a champion of men- and women-at-arms. But in the end, it merely served to remind Americans how little he understands about service, sacrifice, and heroism."
~ Charlie Sykes
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/2
"Trump’s latest leaves me angry and appalled, that he would denigrate this solemn place for a photo op. How can this man be put back in charge of the country’s military when he clearly doesn’t respect them or what they do?
Remember that Trump got out of serving in Vietnam because of 'bone spurs.'”
~ Dan Rather
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/3
"He has called American fighting men and women who paid the ultimate price 'suckers and losers.' He has ridiculed prisoners of war, like the late Senator John McCain. 'He’s not a war hero, he’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured, okay?' Trump said during the 2016 campaign."
~ Dan Rather
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/4
"A handout given to visitors titled 'Rules Governing Conduct' specifically prohibits 'political campaign or election-related activities within the cemeteries.' But that didn’t stop Trump’s political operatives from shooting campaign video and setting up photos with their malignant candidate standing over a gravestone, grinning and flashing a 'thumbs up.'"
~Steven Beschloss
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/5
https://www.americaamerica.news/p/snapshot-the-further-desecration
"I felt it necessary to follow up on this nauseating, infuriating episode because it encapsulates why we should do whatever we can to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz—to make clear how done we are with a sociopath who exploits a hallowed place like Arlington, cares not one whit if he’s breaking laws, creates conflict and misery for his own personal benefit, then exacerbates the abuse when the actions are questioned."
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/6
Wendell Griffen, an honorably discharged military veteran who has served as a judge and pastor of a church, says,
"We should be offended, but not surprised, that Donald Trump recently visited Arlington National Cemetery for political posturing.
We have seen Trump use the Holy Bible for political posturing, personal branding, and private profiteering."
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/7
https://fierceprohetichope.blogspot.com/2024/08/donald-trumps-dishonoring-and.html
"He uses women in his family, notably Melania Trump (his wife) and Ivanka Trump (his daughter) as sex objects.
He used classified material stolen from the White House as personal swagger material.
He wanted to stage a Fourth of July military parade using military personnel and armored tracked vehicles on Washington streets to show his personal power.
Trump referred to flag officers of the U.S. military as 'my generals.'"
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/8
"Long before Trump stomped onto the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery to exploit family members of fallen veterans of the U.S. war in Afghanistan at the gravesites of their loved ones, there was overwhelming evidence that Donald Trump is a vicious sociopathic idiot who only reveres himself, his celebrity, his wealth, and his power."
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/9
"The latest stunt at Arlington Cemetery is further proof that Trump is an idolatrous buffoon, con artist, judged sex offender, pathological liar, commercial cheat, and convicted felon without any regard for the valor, devotion, and loyalty demonstrated by people who serve in the military, not to mention those who died in service to the nation, and their loved ones."
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/10
Is it possible that Trump might eventually apologize for violating legal strictures regarding photographing graves at Arlington National Cemetery for political use?
Not a chance of that, Mark Sumner thinks, since
"Trump doesn’t do apologies, only insults."
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/11
"The fascist overtones from the Arlington National Cemetery incident are unmistakeable: a presidential campaign run like a gang, with enforcers shoving aside a public servant enforcing the rules and a mob of millions of supporters with a track record of doxxing, harassing, intimidating, & threatening anyone who gets in their candidate’s way, all the while being egged on by the candidate himself."
~ David Kurtz
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #military #veterans
/12
https://morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com/p/cemetery-staffer-declines-to-press
"You can’t blame the cemetery official for declining to press charges rather than put herself in the line of fire for continued and unending abuse. She didn’t sign up for that. She’s already been baselessly accused by the Trump campaign of having a 'mental health episode,' being 'despicable' and a 'disgrace,' and not deserving to have her job."
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/13
"The erosion of any kind of strong, unified, national, countervailing force to Trump’s public bullying and nastiness only enables and emboldens the thuggery that is central to his appeal and that he has already notoriously used on Jan. 6 to try to retain power."
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans #bullying #thuggery #fascism
/14
"There's something fundamentally broken about Donald Trump, and it was on full display during his recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery. ...
This is where Trump's moral failing becomes most apparent. It's not just that he and his campaign were willing to break the law for a photo op; it's that they were so quick to vilify anyone who stood in their way."
~ Parker Molloy
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/15
"The Arlington employee's fear of retaliation wasn't unfounded — it was a reminder of how Trump's influence has twisted the public discourse, where those who uphold the rules are the ones who end up under attack."
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/16
"Today, it became known that the family of Army Master Sergeant Andrew Marckesano, a soldier buried next to the grave behind which Trump posed, told the New York Times that they had not given permission for Trump and his campaign to film his gravesite, which appeared in photographs and videos of Trump."
~ Lucian K. Truscott
#Trump #ArlingtonNationalCemetery #Arlington #military #veterans
/17
https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/trump-manages-to-disrespect-both
@AlliFlowers I fully understand. I read commentary today by Will Selber stating that he knew comrades buried in the secton of the cemetery Trump desecrated and is appalled at Trump's desecration of all those graves.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-arlington-national-cemetery-section-60-politicized