Harris says Trump “disrespected sacred ground” at Arlington

The family of a Green Beret buried on the grounds also spoke out about their displeasure with Trump filming near the soldier’s grave.

Referring to the incident, Harris posted on X that Arlington was a “solemn” location and “not a place for politics.”

“And yet, as reported this week, Donald Trump’s team chose to shoot a video there, leading to an altercation with cemetery staff,” her post on Saturday said.

She added: “Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt.”

In response to a request for comment, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung directed BI to an X post on the Trump campaign’s X account called “Trump War Room.” The post was captioned: “A message to @KamalaHarris from Gold Star Families,”

Arlington issued a statement about the incident Thursday.

“Participants at the Aug. 26 ceremony and subsequent Section 60 visit were briefed on federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies that clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” the Army statement said.

“An ANC employee who tried to ensure compliance with these rules was suddenly pushed aside,” the statement added, saying the cemetery employee “acted professionally and avoided further disruption.”

But Trump, for his part, maintained that he and his campaign did nothing wrong.

Asked about the incident in an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Trump said he didn’t know what the “rules and regulations” were for filming in the cemetery.

“All of a sudden, I heard that someone, I have no idea who it is, had an argument with someone else at the cemetery about the photos being taken,” Trump said. “We took them at the request of the families and I’m very happy we did.”

His camp echoed his sentiments. His running mate, Sen. JD Vance, said at a campaign event in Wisconsin on Wednesday that Trump was there at the cemetery to offer “emotional support to the many brave Americans who lost loved ones who would not have should never have lost them”.

“You guys in the press are acting like Donald Trump filmed a TV ad at a grave,” Vance said.

Trump’s campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, posted a comment Thursday on X, along with a video of Trump at the wreath-laying ceremony.

“I’m reposting this in hopes of triggering the hacks at @SecArmy,” he wrote.

Representatives for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.