Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard appeared on CNN on Sunday to slam Vice President Kamala Harris for skipping a memorial honoring 13 service members who died in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal effort.
Former President Donald Trump and his team visited Arlington Cemetery on Monday, where he and his staff honored 13 Gold Star recipient families, but later came under fire from the media for their coverage of the ceremony. Appearing on “State of the Union,” Gabbard said Trump's team “interacted” with Arlington officials and was allowed to “bring in cameras” to document the ceremony. (Related: Harris' attempt to attack Trump's Arlington visit backfires badly as Gold Star families react)
“I have checked in with my campaign about this question and they have been in communication with officials at Arlington National Cemetery. They have been approved to bring cameras there to document this historic and momentous day that no American should ever forget,” Gabbard said.
The former Democratic congressman also noted that some of the family members who attended the ceremony had “invited” Trump, and stressed that Harris had “made no effort whatsoever” to comfort the families.
“I know President Trump wanted to share that with others, especially President Biden. [and] “I was told Ms. Harris had been invited by some of these families. Not only did they not come, they didn't even respond to the invitation,” Gabbard continued. “You can see how upset the families of 13 military Gold Star recipients were by Kamala Harris' statement yesterday that she supports these families, our service members and our veterans.”
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“She has made no effort to call them personally on the third anniversary or at any other time to offer her condolences or apologize for the decisions that led to the loss of their loved ones,” Gabbard said.
When CNN host Dana Bash questioned whether the Trump campaign had violated the cemetery's rules regarding coverage of the memorial, Gabbard intervened, noting that there wasn't enough “universal coverage” of the anniversary.
“Let me just say one final thing on this, because I know this is important and I've seen a lot of headlines and articles and concerns that people have raised about this, but as a soldier and as someone who has deployed to different theaters around the world, I have friends who are buried in Section 60,” Gabbard said.
“What's even more outraging to me is the lack of global coverage of the families of the 13 Gold Star recipients on the third anniversary of their deaths,” Gabbard said, “and the outrage that their loved ones feel they are not receiving the coverage and remembrance that they deserve for their great sacrifice. That should be outraging to everyone.”
According to reports, during the former president's visit to the cemetery, authorities tried to prevent Trump campaign staff from taking pictures and photographs in an area reserved for American victims, where only cemetery employees are allowed to take photographs. According to According to NPR, a member of Trump's staff is accused of verbally abusing and pushing away an employee who tried to interfere with filming.
But Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang denied the allegations in a statement to NPR, saying “private photographers were allowed on the grounds.”
“We are prepared to make the footage public if such a defamation claim is made,” Chang said. “The facts are that a private cameraman was allowed on the premises and that for some reason, an anonymous individual who was clearly suffering from mental illness decided to physically disturb a member of President Trump's team in the middle of a very solemn ceremony.”
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