Official version of events during Trump's visit –

Arlington National Cemetery confirmed Tuesday that an incident occurred during former President Donald Trump's visit Monday to mark the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attacks in Afghanistan.

According to the statement, an incident was confirmed and a report was filed.

The cemetery, located in the Washington, Virginia suburb, said federal law prohibits any political campaigning or election-related activities at Army National Cemetery military cemeteries. This includes activities by photographers, content creators, or anyone else participating in or supporting the campaign of a partisan political candidate. Arlington National Cemetery has made this law and its restrictions clear to all participants and has communicated it widely.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

On Monday, Trump took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to mark the third anniversary of the deaths of 13 U.S. soldiers in an Islamic State attack outside Kabul airport in Afghanistan that also killed more than 150 Afghans. Parents of the fallen soldiers have expressed frustration with President Joe Biden's administration for its lack of answers to the attack.

After the ceremony, Trump went to Section 60 of the cemetery, where some soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried and where recording is normally strictly prohibited.

Dispute with cemetery officials

According to reports on Tuesday, a verbal and physical altercation broke out between two members of Trump's campaign team and a cemetery official who tried to prevent them from filming.

The Arlington National Cemetery statement did not confirm these details. Steven Cheung, Trump's communications director, disputed some of the details in the report and mentioned that the campaign was willing to release footage to back up its claims.

Cheung said no physical altercation occurred as described and that they were prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims were made. He added that a private photographer was allowed into the grounds and that an unnamed individual, apparently experiencing a mental health crisis, obstructed members of President Trump's team during the ceremony.

Cheung later confirmed to X that Trump was allowed to have a photographer present.

Trump's co-campaign manager responds

Chris LaCivita, Trump's co-campaign manager, shared a video on X showing Trump laying flowers on a grave.

In his statement, LaCivita criticized the “despicable human being” who allegedly physically prevented Trump’s team from attending the event.

He called it scandalous that someone would physically prevent President Trump's team from attending such a solemn event, arguing that it defiled the sacred ground of Arlington National Cemetery. He claimed that those spreading these lies dishonor the armed forces and disrespect everyone who has sacrificed themselves for the country.

LaCivita also claimed that Trump was in Section 60 at the invitation of the families of the Abbey Gate Gold Star buildings to honor their loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Controversies galore

This month, Trump sparked controversy by claiming that the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a civilian award, was “better” than the Medal of Honor, the highest military award, because recipients of the latter are often dead or injured.

Trump had previously come under fire for a 2020 report by The Atlantic magazine, which former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly later confirmed, alleging that Trump made derogatory remarks about fallen soldiers, calling them “suckers” and “losers.” Trump has denied these allegations.

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President Biden mourns the murders

President Biden commemorated the third anniversary of the attack on Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. soldiers.

In a statement on Monday, he revealed the identities of the 13 soldiers and stressed that more than 100 innocent Afghans were also killed in the bombing of the airport.

He described the 13 Americans and the wounded as patriots in the truest sense of the word. Some of them were born when the war in Afghanistan began, while others were on their second or third deployment. All of them chose to serve a cause greater than themselves and risked their own safety to protect their fellow Americans, allies and Afghan partners.

The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan was one of Biden's first foreign policy actions as president. Since then, Republicans have repeatedly criticized him and his administration for the way the withdrawal was handled. The soldiers died when a bomb exploded at the airport while U.S. forces were working to evacuate thousands of U.S. citizens and Afghan civilians.

Trump criticizes Biden and Harris over Abbey Gate attacks

On Monday, former President Donald Trump linked Vice President Kamala Harris to the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, referring to the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. soldiers, calling the attack a “humiliation.”

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, honored Sergeant Nicole Gee, Staff Sergeant Darin Hoover and Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss, who were killed along with over 100 Afghans in the suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 26, 2021, by laying wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery. He then traveled to Michigan to speak at the National Guard Association of the United States conference.

Speaking to an audience of about 4,000, including members of the National Guard and their families in Detroit, he explained that the humiliation in Afghanistan, which he attributed to Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, had triggered the collapse of America's credibility and respect around the world.

“Most embarrassing day in the history of our country”

The Biden administration adhered to a withdrawal plan and timetable that the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban in 2020. A review by a government-appointed special counsel in 2022 found that decisions by both Trump and Biden were instrumental in the rapid collapse of the Afghan military and the Taliban's takeover of power.

In his speech to the National Guard in Detroit, Trump acknowledged that withdrawing from Afghanistan was the right decision, but criticized the way it was implemented. He said the decision should have been made with dignity and strength and called the attack “the most shameful day in the history of our country.”

Since Biden ended his re-election campaign, Trump has focused on Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee, and questioned her role in foreign policy decisions. He has highlighted Harris's statements that she was the last person in the room before Biden made the decision on Afghanistan.

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