Politics in the United States of America has filled every street with more tension and apprehension as the election date draws closer. With the latest Clash in the Harris vs Trump saga, fuel has been added to the fire.
On Saturday, the 31st of August, U.S. current Vice President and the now Democratic presidential candidate for the next election, who emerged after the Joe Biden stand down, Kamala Harris, criticized her Republican rival, Donald Trump after he made a visit to the Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, which was later used in his campaign video.
“It is a solemn place; a place where we come together to honor American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of this nation. It is not a place for politics," Kamala Harris wrote in an X post, expressing her displeasure over Donald Trump’s line of action.
Also, while the Federal law and Pentagon policies do not allow political activities in section 60 of the Virginia cemetery, Trump's campaign posted a TikTok video with footage from the cemetery which had a counter-effect on what Donald Trump had anticipated.
Trump’s video also elicited criticism from some veterans and soldiers' relatives.
“Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt," Harris wrote.
What was Donald Trump’s Excuse?
During a speech in Pennsylvania, Trump defended himself by saying that the families of service members who died in Afghanistan had asked him to go to Arlington National Cemetery.
“I got there and we had a ceremony,” Trump said. The families requested his presence at the graves, Trump said, and then they asked for a picture. "I said, 'Absolutely.' So I was taking pictures at the grave," he added.
After this, he, Donald Trump, posted videos of the relatives of at least 7 out of the 13 people killed in Afghanistan defending his action. Many of them addressed Harris directly and disputed her stated support for military families.
“Vice President Harris, why will you not express your condolences yourself? Why have we never heard from you?" asked Christy Shamblin, mother-in-law of Sergeant Nicole Gee, who was among those who died in the 2021 withdrawal, in one of the videos Donald Trump posted.
How Will This Affect The Election?
The Harris vs Trump back and forth may have given a clue to how their Sept. 10 debate will go.
"This is nothing new from Donald Trump. This is a man who has called our fallen service members 'suckers' and 'losers' and disparaged Medal of Honor recipients," Kamala Harris wrote.
This controversy began with a report published by The Atlantic in September 2020, which claimed that Trump had referred to American soldiers buried at Arlington Cemetery as "losers" and "suckers." These alleged remarks were made during a visit to France in 2018, when Trump reportedly questioned why the U.S. military intervened in World War I.
However, the effect these events have had in this election remains unclear.
The Bottom Line
The Arlington Cemetery controversy has become a defining moment in the Harris vs Trump political rivalry.
Whether this controversy will have lasting effects on the political landscape will be known as time goes, but it has undoubtedly added a new dimension to the ongoing debate between Harris and Trump.