close
close

The incident at Arlington National Cemetery

Editor's note: This is an editorial. Like a news article, an editorial is based on facts but also contains opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and bear no association with our editorial staff.

SALT LAKE CITY – Former President Trump stood on hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday.

A photo shows the former president smiling and giving a thumbs up at the grave of Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover of Salt Lake City, who was killed three years ago at Kabul International Airport during the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Standing next to the former president are 17 members of Hoover's family. About five are smiling and giving a thumbs up, three are smiling and serious, and a little way off is Governor Spencer Cox. No thumbs up. No hands. They are behind his back. His smile seems a little pensive and forced – but you can read into pictures what you want.

What you can't see in the picture is the incident that occurred just before. An Arlington employee tried to stop a campaign photographer from going to Sergeant Hoover's grave. The reason for this is that Arlington National Cemetery prohibits political speech at the sacred burial grounds.

According to the New York Times, a scuffle broke out that turned physical when the worker tried to stop the photographer, but he went to the grave and took the photo.

The Trump campaign says yes, there was an Arlington Cemetery employee who had a mental health incident. Arlington officials say an incident report was filed and they are reviewing it.

Meanwhile, a liberal veterans group is accusing Trump of using fallen heroes as props. The Trump campaign says it is prepared to release footage proving there was no physical incident. But the campaign has not released any footage, despite claiming it was simply paying respects to the family of a fallen hero at the invitation of the event.

So both sides are pointing fingers at each other over this thumbs-up photo. But it is clear that Arlington National Cemetery – sacred ground – is now an issue in the presidential election campaign. And next to it stands Governor Spencer Cox.

Jeff Caplan is host of Jeff Caplan's Afternoon News on KSL NewsRadio. Follow him on on facebook. And X.

Additional message protocols:

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Send it to the KSL NewsRadio team here.