JD Vance reacts astonishingly to Trump's Arlington incident

JD Vance claimed Wednesday that “the media” was making up a story about whether anyone on Donald Trump's campaign team was involved in a physical altercation with a high-ranking official at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, and defended the former president against allegations that the campaign team did not have permission to film at a gravesite.

At a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, Vance insisted there was no story to tell.

“In the confrontation at Arlington Cemetery, the media constructed a story that I really don't believe exists,” Vance said.

“There is verifiable evidence that the campaign was allowed to send a photographer there. They were invited to send a photographer there. There is verifiable evidence that the families of these poor people whose loved ones died three years ago at Abbey Road – excuse me, Abbey Gate – these thirteen Americans, many of them were there with the president, they invited him to be there and to support him,” Vance continued.

“This is no insult to the memories of their loved ones. They wanted Donald Trump there, and thank God we have a president who stands with our veterans instead of one who runs away from them.”

However, Vance did not elaborate on the exact nature of the problem: that taking photos and videos is not permitted in a specific area of ​​the cemetery, known as Section 60.

The Trump campaign team was warned before Trump's visit and again during his visit, a defense official familiar with the situation said The Washington Post on Wednesday. NPR first reported on a physical altercation in the area on Tuesday.

The Trump team denies this version of events.

“There was no physical altercation as described and we stand ready to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung previously told the Daily Beast. But no such footage has been released since.

“The fact is that a private photographer was allowed access to the premises and for some reason an unnamed individual, who was obviously suffering from a mental disorder, decided to physically block the path of members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony,” Cheung added, without providing any evidence.

Vance later called Vice President Kamala Harris “disgraceful” for withdrawing the US military from Afghanistan.

“If you want to tell a story about these 13 brave, innocent Americans who lost their lives, it's that Kamala Harris is so asleep that she doesn't even want to conduct an investigation into what happened,” Vance said. “And she wants to yell at Donald Trump for showing up? She can – she can go to hell.”