Gold Star families blast Harris for saying Trump ‘disrespected sacred ground’ at Arlington

They said it was the Biden Administration that was responsible for the death of their loved ones that occurred during the bungled retreat from Afghanistan. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Gold Star families blasted Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris after she claimed former president and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump “disrespected sacred ground” during his visit to Arlington National Cemetery.

Kamala Harris criticized Trump for allegedly “disrespect[ing] sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt.”

She added, “If there is one thing on which we as Americans can all agree, it is that our veterans, military families, and service members should be honored, never disparaged, and treated with nothing less than our highest respect and gratitude. ”

However, several Gold Star families didn’t take kindly to Harris’s criticism of Trump.

They mentioned that it was the Biden Administration that was responsible for the death of their loved ones that occurred during the bungled retreat from Afghanistan.

Mark Schmitz, whose son Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz was killed in the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing and called Harris’ post “heinous, vile and disgusting.”

Darin Hoover, father of Staff Sgt. Darin “Taylor” Hoover who also fell in the attack wrote, “Kamala, we have been treated with the utmost respect, compassion, and understanding by President Trump, something you and Joe Biden have refused to do since August 26, 2021 (the day of the Abbey Gate bombing).”

The incident Harris was referencing was on Labor Day when Gold Star families invited Donald Trump to Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the day of the Abbey Gate bombing, during which a terrorist bombing killed 13 U.S. servicemen.

Kamala Harris accused Trump of “abruptly pushing aside” a worker at the cemetery for a photo opportunity with the families of fallen soldiers.

The incident occurred in Section 60, where photos or videos are usually prohibited.

Fox News reported that Trump was invited to the event by a Gold Star family and that the Trump campaign was given permission to provide a photographer.

During an NBC interview, Trump defended his conduct by saying the family “asked me whether or not I would stand for a picture at the grave of their loved one who should not have died.”

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung added that the cemetery worker who was reportedly pushed aside was  “having a mental health episode” and was blocking the photo.

“The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and, for whatever reason, an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” he said.

Neither Harris nor President Biden attended the ceremony, although the latter issued a statement honoring the fallen soldiers and their families.

Many of the Gold Star families were far more critical of Kamala Harris and the Biden campaign than Donald Trump.

​​”It’s been three years since my son was killed in action, and myself, my family, and other Gold Star families have not seen any support from you or your administration,” said Herman Lopez, father of Corporal Hunter Lopez.

“Why did we want Trump there? It wasn’t to help his political campaign,” Mark Schmitz, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, said in the video. “We wanted a leader. That explains why you and Joe didn’t get a call.”