When it comes to Donald Trump committing infractions of the law, it seems that there is almost an underlying assumption that “Teflon Don” will walk away unscathed no matter how glaring his actions. He has had his confidential documents case dismissed (in a shameful show of conflicted deference by Judge Aileen Cannon), he has had the Supreme Court throw his immunity claims back to the lower court with advisement that the president should receive an unprecedented level of leeway (more on that here), and to my knowledge, he has not paid any significant amount on the civil judgments against him so far. Nor has he received sentencing on his felony charges. And that just scratches the surface.
However, his actions in Arlington National Cemetery just recently seemed to be the last straw for many, and it looked like the former Commander in Chief might finally be held accountable for one of his infractions. But more than a week has passed with no indication that consequences will follow (apart from turning even more voters against him), so once again it appears that the person who called himself the “law and order” president may walk away from violating the law with no penalties.
For those who may not know the story, Trump and his campaign team attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery at the behest of several Gold Star families paying respect to fallen loved ones. They were in Section 60, where those killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are buried, and there is a strict prohibition against filming or taking pictures for political purposes. Trump’s team ignored that and filmed several moments of the ceremony while also taking pictures, including showing the former president in a very non-reverential stance—smiling and with thumbs up—while standing with military family members.
He literally posted a video using the footage. pic.twitter.com/H94qjkdRaV
— Dr. Temper Tantrum, PVT (@DrTemperTantrum) August 28, 2024
An ANC employee attempted to ensure adherence to the rules of the cemetery and she was “abruptly pushed aside” by members of Trump’s team according to an official statement. Trump and his staff denied that there was an altercation and they later derided the cemetery worker, claiming she was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode.” They said they would release video to prove their side of the story, but never followed through on that. Instead, a video was released on TikTok (the social media site Trump once threatened to shut down) that showed Trump and his people in the cemetery and had the former president blaming Joe Biden for the lives that were lost in Afghanistan. The video received widespread criticism for its disrespect of the cemetery and the fallen soldiers laid to rest there. It also acts as clear proof that Trump and his team violated federal law.
Since that time, Trump has tried to deflect the blame, claiming he didn’t know the rules (even though they were clearly explained to him) and that maybe the Gold Star families released the video. The problem with that claim, though, is that the video was put out by his campaign. And this week, he is now saying that the whole thing was made up by Kamala Harris–who had absolutely no involvement–and that there was no altercation and that she is just trying to spread bad publicity about him.
The incident itself is really quite sickening, but the fact that he will not show any contrition and that he even tried to throw the Gold Star families that invited him under the bus makes it that much worse. Trump has received plenty of bad press about this, and rightfully so. He has on multiple occasions disrespected the military, and to make his stance even more egregious, he avoided service during Vietnam claiming an exemption for bone spurs (despite no medical evidence for the condition). And this incident certainly proves once again that he has little to no respect for the military.
But the difference here is that he actually violated federal law by conducting campaign activities at Arlington National Cemetery and photographing in a prohibited area. Plus, the evidence is out there for everybody to see. So why has no action been taken against him?
When the story first broke and remained consistently in the headlines, it sure seemed that Trump would finally face some consequences. But the cemetery worker refused to file charges (sadly for fear of reprisal from MAGA supporters), and the Army has apparently chosen not to take action either. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has shown no indication he will look into this, but that should come as no surprise seeing as he has taken an all-too-timid stance against Trump during his tenure for fear of appearing conflicted. So will this incident fade from the headlines and end up in the trash heap of the former president’s many improprieties that the people of this country seem to have gotten used to and continue to dismiss as Trump being Trump?
House Democrat Jamie Raskin is trying to get some momentum behind possibly pressing charges against Trump for the incident. If that does move forward, the former president will likely blame staff members for the video in an attempt to avoid any penalties. But it will at least continue to keep this in the headlines, and that will work against Trump in the final weeks of the presidential race as he continues to see his poll numbers slide.
Trump’s disrespect of the military and veterans has been on display multiple times throughout his presidency and in the years since. It is yet another reason that he is unfit for the role of Commander in Chief, and his latest infraction certainly should result in legal action. There is no guarantee that will happen, though, and we have seen him dodge the consequences of his actions on a regular basis. Ultimately, it may be up to the people to call him out this time, and we can do that with our votes in November. There are plenty of reasons to vote against Trump and his toxic politics that threaten our Democracy, and his reprehensible actions in Arlington National Cemetery that disrespect the military—especially those who have fallen in service—adds one more to the list. If nothing else, justice can be served at the polls.