Trump Videos at Arlington Stir More Fallout After Grave Site Visit

[Dulcinea]

(New York Times) The family of a Green Beret who died by suicide after serving eight combat tours and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery expressed concern Wednesday that Donald Trump’s campaign had filmed his grave site without permission as Trump stood in an area where campaign photography isn’t allowed.

Relatives of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano issued their statement two days after Trump’s visit, which also included a confrontation between members of the Trump campaign and an Arlington employee. The former president’s campaign took video in a heavily restricted section of the cemetery known as Section 60, which is largely reserved for the fallen veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
-snip-

Marckesano died July 7, 2020, after moving to Washington to begin a job at the Pentagon. He had three children, and friends said he had chronic post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in combat. He earned Silver and Bronze Stars during his service. His grave site is adjacent to that of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, a Marine who was killed in the 2021 bombing at Abbey Gate outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.

The Hoover family granted permission to the Trump team to film and take photographs at the grave site; the Marckesano family did not, and filming and photographing at the grave site for political purposes is a violation of federal law, according to cemetery officials. Yet Marckesano’s grave was shown in photos from the visit that were published online. A video was posted to Trump’s TikTok account featuring footage from the Section 60 visit and the gravestones from behind, with narration criticizing the handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-videos-arlington-stir-more-113122006.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&segment_id=DY_VTO&ncid=crm_19908-1202929-20240830-0&bt_user_id=7OxmX5gWacqeYuxwntKYwUQT%2BP%2FRPSs7ZP5SJBHTjUspMTXnlvxW89n82ROUE9dx&bt_ts=1725016180769

[Clouds Passing]

1. Military families must continue to keep this story in the spotlight.

[usonian]

2. There is court, the court of public opinion, and the food court.

You must choose wisely.

[Random Boomer]

3. Once again, Trump suffers no repercussions

You would THINK that all veterans and their families would find his actions repugnant, but it was a veteran's family who invited him there and still defends the incident.

His MAGA vets don't give a toss what he does.

[twodogsbarking]

4. There are vets in the House and Senate who are Republicants. I don't recall what they said. Anyone?

[Old Okie]

5. VET

Nobody should ever have to serve 8 combat tours!

[johnnyfins]

6. I would veture a guess

That he just wanted to get back to help his his unit. That kind of bravery and sacrifice is what TSF and his basket of deplorables will NEVER respect or understand.

[Skittles]

10. it's likely he volunteered

no one should be ALLOWED to serve eight combat tours

[Arne]

7. Trump went to the cemetery to get answers.

His biggliest question,
What was in it for them?
And what good is a medal when your dead?

I'm sorry, these are not actual questions, but statements.

[CanonRay]

8. Let's keep this front and center

I hope it costs him a million vet votes.

[speak easy]

9. ... photo ... thumbs up :(

[FakeNoose]

12. They could have taken this "thumbs up" photo anywhere

Why did they feel it necessary to desecrate these graves? Especially the grave of Master Sergeant Marckesano that they had no right to even photograph? The woman holding the toddler is standing directly over his resting place. No wonder the Marckesano family is upset.

[Historic NY]

11. Families still can't give permission they don't have for political events

They knew the rules, which were explained in depth at internment.

[moniss]

14. Your comment is the best response to this lurid idea being floated

that somehow the families can give permission. The proper response here I believe would be for the campaign to be charged and for the family that took part in this to have their visitation access restricted unless accompanied by MP's in order to assure that no further desecration takes place.

[usonian]

13. Kick. This is Trump's Willie Horton watershed moment.

He looks right at home in a clean, well-kept ...

[moniss]

15. They also played this knowing that

they are able to take the media reporting to focus on this and to not be talking about Harris/Walz and their large crowds and momentum. These media consultants are savvy people and they know that the day after day positive reporting for Harris/Walz was snowballing and building on itself. They needed to change that and even if it happens with something negative they will play the their spin about the negative while knowing they have taken a great deal of media attention away from their opponent.

Now combine that with the predictably negative spin from the CNN hacks about the interview and the push polling of calling people and suggesting there are "problems","unanswered questions" etc. and their upcoming polling over the Labor Day weekend and just beyond will show them if they have "slowed the roll" in Harris/Walz momentum. They also know they have a big negative facing them on 9/18 if the sentencing by Judge Merchan goes through as scheduled just a few weeks before the election. So if they can get a delay on that and slow the growth in the support for Harris/Walz then they probably feel they can tighten the race. Their gamble is how the Arlington stunt plays with their base that includes veterans and loved ones of those lost. A big gamble but there is no doubt he has everything on the line and he's going for broke.

I see Merchan giving him a big fine and 2-5 and maybe 5-10 on the 34 felonies. That part may become a matter of where he serves the time. Due to the SS detail etc.