Donald Trump was photographed smiling and giving an awkward thumbs up at the graves of fallen Marines at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday.
The former president’s behavior drew criticism online, with many confused – others downright insulted – that he would display his trademark grin and hand gesture in such a sensitive location.
“Giving a thumbs up at the grave is unusual, to say the least,” posted Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman and lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard.
Trump was in Virginia to lay a wreath at the Abbey Gate of Kabul airport on the third anniversary of the deaths of 13 American soldiers during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Taliban members took to the streets in 2022 to mark the first anniversary of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Ali Khara/Reuters
Defenders of the Republican candidate praised Trump for traveling to Arlington at all, while others described Trump’s behavior as mere habit after months of campaigning.
In the photos, Trump appeared to be surrounded by relatives of the fallen Marines, some of whom were smiling and giving a thumbs up of their own. The most widely circulated photos showed him standing behind the headstones of Nicole Gee, a sergeant, and Darin “Taylor” Hoover, a staff sergeant.
In addition to Trump, Virginia’s Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman who endorsed him later that day, was also present. Utah’s Republican governor Spencer J. Cox was also there and showed photos from the event. Neither Joe Biden nor Kamala Harris were in attendance.
Trump’s campaign recently tried to portray the bloody US military withdrawal from Afghanistan as a line of attack against Harris, even though Trump was the president who negotiated the deal that led to the withdrawal, even going so far as to host Taliban members at Camp David on September 11, 2019, to finalize the deal.
Arlington National Cemetery has strict rules regarding partisan political events and anyone attempting to “gain publicity or support for any cause” is denied entry. Nevertheless, presidents and politicians regularly attend memorial services there, which are usually covered in the press.
Donald Trump stands alongside Misty Fuoco, whose sister Sergeant Nicole Gee was killed in Afghanistan in 2021.
Anna Moneymaker/Reuters
Trump has a checkered history with the military and veterans. He has been accused by those once close to him of fabricating an injury to avoid the Vietnam War draft. He has also belittled the intelligence of service members and called for wounded veterans to be kept away from military parades. The Atlantic during his presidency.
Among the most damning alleged comments revealed in that report was Trump calling the more than 1,800 Marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood — a deadly battle in World War I — “suckers” for being killed. In a separate conversation on the subject, he allegedly referred to soldiers killed in combat as “losers.”
“Why should I go to this cemetery?” he is said to have said. “It’s full of losers.”
Trump claims the allegations made in the explosive report are not true, but people who were once close to him confirmed the accuracy of the quotes. They included retired four-star Marine General John Kelly, who was Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff.
