Several Republicans have come to the defense of former President Donald Trump after he faced criticism for bringing a photographer to his visit to Arlington National Cemetery. Lawmakers like Rep. Brian Mast of Florida and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas released statements in support of Trump's visit,
which was intended to honor the 13 fallen American servicemembers.
In a post on X, Rep. Brian Mast highlighted that Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery “to comfort the Gold Star families” of the 13 service members who died during the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“President Trump went to Arlington National Cemetery on the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing to comfort the Gold Star families of the 13 service members we lost,” Mast wrote. “Joe Biden, meanwhile, decided to go to the beach on the third anniversary. Guess who the media attacks?”
Sen. Tom Cotton issued a statement praising Trump “for accepting the invitation of the Gold Star families,” while also criticizing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I commend President Trump for accepting the invitation of the Gold Star families to join them at Arlington National Cemetery to honor their loved ones who died during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Cotton said. “The families had every right to invite whomever they wanted to commemorate this solemn anniversary, just as President Trump and his aides had every right to accept their invitation. Neither the families nor President Trump violated cemetery regulations or policies. The real scandal here isn’t that the families invited President Trump or that he accepted their invitation. It’s not even that political operatives working for the incompetent Secretary of the Army disrespected the wishes of these Gold Star families. The real scandal is that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden condemned thirteen brave American troops to death and didn’t even have the decency to call or meet with the Gold Star families to express their condolences. Kamala Harris should never be our military’s commander-in-chief.”
Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, also defended Trump after the Harris campaign criticized the former president for his visit to the Gold Star families at Arlington Cemetery.
“To have those 13 Americans lose their lives and not fire a single person is disgraceful,” Vance said. “Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won’t even do an investigation into what happened but wants to yell at Donald Trump for showing up.”