Gabbard Pushes Back On CNN in Defense of Trump’s Arlington Visit

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard turned the tables on CNN’s Dana Bash during an interview after the host suggested that Donald Trump’s recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery was controversial.

Trump had visited the cemetery late last month to honor the 13 U.S. servicemen and women who were killed during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden-Harris administration. A suicide bomber at Kabul airport claimed the lives of over a dozen U.S. service members, including Marines, Army soldiers, and a Navy Corpsman, as well as at least 150 Afghans, just days before the last American troops left the country.

Several of Trump’s critics, including media figures, accused him of violating a federal law prohibiting campaign activities at the cemetery, after Trump posed for photos with several Gold Star families during the event. While Trump shared some of the photos online, none were used for campaign purposes. The families themselves later released statements supporting Trump’s visit and criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who had declined invitations to attend the commemoration.

In her conversation with Bash, Gabbard, who is now working with Trump’s campaign to help him prepare for his September 10 debate with Harris, argued that the real scandal was the lack of media coverage of the event, not Trump’s visit. She also denied claims that Trump’s campaign had an altercation with cemetery officials.

Gabbard explained that Trump’s team sought and received approval from Arlington officials to bring a camera to document the commemoration. “I checked with the campaign on this question, and they have exchanges with the officials at Arlington Cemetery. They were approved to bring a camera there to document this historic and momentous day that should not be forgotten by any American,” Gabbard said.

“I know President Trump wanted to share that with others, especially given the fact that President Biden and Harris, I heard, were invited by some of these family members. They not only didn’t come, they didn’t even respond to that invitation,” Gabbard added. She also criticized Vice President Harris for releasing a statement supporting the families after ignoring their invitations. “Now, to have Kamala Harris put this statement out yesterday saying that she stands with these families, she stands with the military and with veterans — you only have to look at the response from the Gold Star families of these 13 service members and how offended they were by that statement."

Gabbard continued, “Given that she has not made any effort — not on that third anniversary or any other time — to call them directly to offer her condolences and even apologies for their decisions that led to the loss of their loved ones.”

When Bash tried to shift the focus to whether Trump’s campaign violated cemetery rules about covering memorial services, Gabbard, a veteran and current U.S. Army Reserve officer, stood firm.

“I’d just like to say one last thing on this because I think it’s important, and I’ve seen a lot of the headlines and the stories and the concerns people are raising. But to me, as a soldier and someone who has been deployed to different war zones in the world, I have friends who are buried there at Section 60,” Gabbard said.

“What is more outrageous to me is that there wasn’t universal coverage of the momentous day of the third anniversary of the loss of these 13 Gold Star families. And the outrage they feel that their loved ones are not getting the kind of coverage and memory that their great sacrifice deserves. That is what everyone should be outraged about,” she concluded.

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