Trump and Vance were accompanied by the president-elect’s family and Cabinet nominees for the wreath laying ceremony.
President-elect Donald Trump arrived at Arlington National Cemetery on Jan. 19 to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on the eve of his second inauguration.
Trump’s motorcade arrived at Arlington National Cemetery around 1:20 p.m. ET on Sunday. Trump was accompanied by daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner, son Donald Trump Jr., and daughter-in-law Tiffany. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations nominee Elise Stefanik, and Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard also joined the president-elect and his family.
Trump, his family, Cabinet selections, and Vice President-elect JD Vance were joined by Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a wounded soldier who lost an arm and a leg after being wounded during the bombing of the Kabul airport in 2021.
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Trump legal adviser Boris Epshteyn, and Trump aide Natalie Harp also accompanied the group, who all stood in a row and paused in front of the tomb silently.
Trump and Vance each brought a wreath to lay at the tomb, along with a wreath walked out by three soldiers dressed in uniform. The president-elect saluted while Vance, a military veteran, put his hand over his heart.
After a drum roll at 1:39 p.m., a uniformed soldier played “Taps” on a bugle, while Vargas-Andrews wiped tears from his eyes. After the performance, Trump and Vance walked back up the steps away from the tomb.
The group then moved to Section 60 of the cemetery to visit the graves of three soldiers killed at Abbey Gate, where they spent nearly 30 minutes speaking with the soldiers’ families, including a fourth related to a deceased soldier who was not identified.
Trump, Melania, Vance, and his wife Usha walked from gravesite to gravesite, with the president-elect placing what appeared to be a gold-colored challenge coin on top of each of the four headstones. Melania placed lilies at each gravesite.
By Jacob Burg
