Former US President Donald Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery last Monday to pay tribute to the martyred American soldiers. But his visit got embroiled in controversy. The reason for this is the presence of a photographer.
Trump had actually visited the cemetery to pay tribute to the 13 American soldiers who were killed in a suicide attack in Kabul during the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan three years ago. During this time, a photographer was also with his campaign team. This led to a controversy.
There was an argument between a member of Trump’s campaign team and cemetery officials over the presence of a photographer in Arlington National Cemetery. An attempt was made to stop the photographer. This argument led to a scuffle, where Trump’s staff even pushed the officer. The cemetery official tried to stop Trump’s staff from taking photographs and videography. He said that only cemetery staff members are allowed to take photographs and do videography in this area.
The cemetery issued a statement saying that political propaganda and election-related activities are prohibited in military cemeteries under the law. Political propaganda is not right in such places.
Trump’s team is on the backfoot
After the matter became public and the controversy grew, Trump’s election campaign spokesperson Cheung denied the scuffle. He said that if needed, we are ready to release the footage of this incident.
He said that the fact is that private photographers are allowed to enter the cemetery premises. But the cemetery officer is going through some kind of mental trauma, due to which he tried to stop the members of Trump’s team. He is not eligible to represent the National Cemetery.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)