Family members of soldiers killed in Afghanistan withdrawal say the presidential candidate was invited to attend the ceremony and to ‘hear our stories.’
Former President Donald Trump posted videos of family members of fallen soldiers responding to Vice President Kamala Harris’s criticism of his recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery.
On Aug. 26, President Trump laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery to mark the third anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. During the event, Trump was joined by family members of fallen servicemembers.
Vice President Kamala Harris wrote a lengthy post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Aug. 31, accusing the former president of playing politics at the venue.
“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,” Harris wrote. “The former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt.”
Responding to the criticism, Trump on Sept. 1 uploaded videos of eight family members of soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
“Former President Trump has been there for us from the very beginning when our son and the other 12 of his brothers and sisters in arms were murdered due to your negligence and uncaring attitude towards our military,” Darin Hoover, father of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, said in a video.
Taylor Hoover was among the 13 servicemembers killed on Aug. 26, 2021, in an ISIS terrorist attack outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul amid the military withdrawal.
“Our sons and daughters made the best of a difficult situation, as they had been trained to do,” Darin Hoover said.
He refuted claims that the Trump team entered into an altercation with the cemetery staff.
“There was also not an assault that we observed take place, nor did we hear it,“ Darin Hoover said. ”I don’t know where this is coming from.”
Mark Schmitz, father of Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz who also died in the 2021 attack, said Harris’s post was “trying to incite those that don’t follow the truth.”
“Shows you how much you know about the 13 families,” he said.
