Sarah Longwell: ‘Donald Trump Has Never Been Good at Honoring America’s Soldiers’ Amid Arlington Cemetery Controversy
(Getty Images for Teen Vogue)
A heated exchange unfolded between a former Republican pollster and a former Trump staffer over the ex-president’s recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery, where he allegedly violated federal law by engaging in campaign activities. The incident, which has stirred significant controversy, involved Trump’s campaign sharing a TikTok video of him laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier—a location where photos and videos are permitted—but also participating in activities at Section 60, a more sensitive area of the cemetery.
Section 60 is known for being the final resting place for many service members who died in recent conflicts, and federal law prohibits campaign activities there. Despite this, Trump’s team reportedly filmed and photographed the visit, leading to a physical and verbal altercation between two campaign staffers and an Arlington cemetery employee who attempted to prevent the recording, told Raw Story.
Mike Dubke, who served as White House communications director under Trump, acknowledged the legitimacy of Trump’s visit but criticized how the campaign handled the situation. “Let’s just accept all of the facts to be true, that he laid the marker at the grave of the Unknown Soldier, that they went there, they were invited by the other families and all of this,” Dubke said. He added, “The Trump campaign should have done that,” referring to the need to blur out sensitive images or names in the photos.
Dubke noted that the first part of the day went as planned, but “the second part of the day turned into a kerfuffle that we’re now talking about three days later.” He emphasized that while Trump had the right to visit at the invitation of the families, the campaign should have been more careful with how the media content was handled, given that the service members buried in Section 60 have living family members who might not have wanted their loved ones’ graves included in a political context.
Former GOP pollster Sarah Longwell was more critical, arguing that Trump has consistently mishandled matters related to the military. “Donald Trump has literally never been good at honoring America’s soldiers,” Longwell stated. She referenced past comments by Trump, adding, “Like, this is a guy who said that people who died for the country were suckers and losers.”
Longwell continued her criticism by saying, “Every time he goes out there and tries to sort of performatively utilize dead soldiers and people who’ve fallen for the country, like, he does it in the schlocky political way, and so this is like par for the course with him. He has no real sense of dignity around this.”
She concluded by asserting, “He has no real sense of commitment to these soldiers; he uses people as political props, and then behind the scenes, he criticizes their sacrifice.” The exchange highlights ongoing concerns about Trump’s approach to military matters and the potential misuse of sacred spaces for political gain.
