As a person who has a marine grandson buried in the hallowed ground of the national cometary in Boca Raton, Florida – and has a lifetime deep respect for those who serve in the military — I have both an intellectual and emotional response to the controversy that has arisen over President Trump’s recent visit to Arlington Cemetery.
While I have taken umbrage over some of Trump’s insensitive remarks about those who serve our nation, I was more disturbed by the reaction of Democrats and the left-leaning news folks to the Arlington visit. I feel more in line with the sentiments of the families who invited Trump to honor and draw attention to the sacrifice of their loved ones. I view his acceptance of the invitation as a positive thing,
The occasion was the third anniversary of Biden’s unilateral surrender in Afghanistan – where my grandson had been previously killed – and the related deaths of 13 American soldiers by terrorists during the chaotic retreat.
The controversy over Trump’s participation in the memorial event arose over a vague rule against taking photos and videos for partisan political purposes. I say a “vague rule” because it is almost never enforced. There have been ubiquitous photos and videos of politicians visiting Arlington. Some have been used in campaign material. The most notable examples were several visits to President Kennedy’s eternal flame memorial by family members – some during political campaigns.
The families of three of the Afghanistan exodus victims, who are buried at Arlington, invited both President Trump and President Biden (or a White House surrogate) to participate in the memorial ceremony, Trump accepted the invitation, and the Biden administration ignored it without even the courtesy of a response – privately or publicly.
Not only were the families NOT offended by Trump’s appearance, but they were also appreciative and honored by his presence – and they said so in many media interviews. It is those who spin the event into a cheap campaign attack on Trump who have politicized the event and disrespected the families.
The most obvious reason anti-Trumpers would engage in such action is to distract from the culpability of Biden in the disastrous, chaotic and deadly surrender of Afghanistan to the Taliban terrorists. And by extension, distract from the thousands of Afghan allies Biden left behind to die.
The surrender of Afghanistan was one of the worst foreign policy blunders by an American President – right up there with President Franklin Roosevelt’s surrender of eastern Europe to Russia’s Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference. It was the event that appropriately collapsed Biden’s favorable ratings – never to fully recover.
I see a significant difference between staging a purely political event at the Cemetery and participating in an appropriate memorial event arranged by others with good intentions and purposes. The families were appreciative of Trump’s participation. That is about all that needs to be said about Trump’s attendance.
I well understand the pain and suffering of the families – and the desire to have their loved ones remembered as the heroes they are. And to have the affirmation of a President – even a past President. If there is any disrespect to be noted, it is the absence of Biden from attending or even publicly expressing sorry and sadness. He was AWOL. And that is all that needs to be said about Biden’s not attending.
So, there ‘tis.