Trump has history sparking outrage for incidents around veterans even as military voters backed him

NEW YORK (AP) — The reported altercation at Arlington National Cemetery involving Donald Trump’s staff was far from the first time that veterans or the families of service members have criticized the former president for words or behavior they saw as disparaging.

Since his first run for the White House, Trump has picked fights with the military and veterans that no other major U.S. politician would, dating back to 2015 when he dismissed the late Sen. John McCain’s military record because McCain had been a prisoner of war. Trump’s allies argue he supports service members while reserving the right to lash out against his critics.

“I think that if you want to know how Donald Trump values and honors those who’ve served, and particularly those who’ve given the ultimate sacrifice, I think you can just talk to these families and they have a much better read on this issue than anybody who has a grudge against Donald Trump,” said Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, on Monday.

Monday’s incident at Arlington National Cemetery took place as the former president visited the graves of some of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the Kabul bombing during the 2021 U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan. The Army says a cemetery official was “pushed aside” by Trump campaign aides while trying to prevent them from filming and photographing in Section 60, the burial site for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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