Trump campaign stoops to insulting US Army ‘hacks’ over Arlington cemetery debacle
A prominent Donald Trump campaign adviser dubs the US army as “hacks,” doubling down in the campaign’s dispute with Arlington National Cemetery officials.
The Republican nominee and his campaign have been in hot water after they filmed Trump’s August 26 visit to the military cemetery to attend a wreath-laying ceremony, despite an Arlington National Cemetery worker warning them against doing so due to federal laws — an exchange that resulted in analleged physical altercation.
In an apparent attempt to further escalate the situation, Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita posted on X on Thursday afternoon: “Reposting this hoping to trigger the hacks at@SecArmy,” sharing a video from the cemetery and tagging Army Secretary Christine E Wormuth.
The back-and-forth began on Monday when a cemetery official told Trump and his entourage they were at risk of violating federal laws by taking photos and videos for political purposes at the site.
After warning about the regulations, that cemetery worker “was abruptly pushed aside” by Trump aides, an Army spokesperson said on Thursday. “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”
The Army’s statement was referring to comments made by LaCivita and Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung on Tuesday defending the campaign — and condemning the cemetery official.
Cheung denied that a physical incident occurred, vowing to provide video footage to back that claim but has yet to do so. He also claimed that the unnamed cemetery official was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode” in a statement to The Independent.
LaCivita similarly assailed the Arlington National Cemetery worker as a “despicable