Trump’s appalling desecration of Arlington National Cemetery shows he still can’t be trusted

Are Donald Trump and JD Vance really the leaders we want representing our nation’s military? I don’t.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has continued his divisive antics this week by desecrating a sacred moment of remembrance for the American troops killed in a suicide bombing three years ago in Afghanistan.

In a time that should have been used to comfort and unify the nation, Trump instead saw another opportunity to promote himself. Even worse, Trump’s staff reportedly got into a physical altercation on Monday with an Arlington National Cemetery employee after they were told not to record video inside the cemetery.

Federal laws and U.S. Army regulations prohibit political activities on the cemetery grounds. Trump and his campaign staff blatantly ignored those restrictions, and then attacked the cemetery employee who tried to uphold the law, even describing her as a “despicable individual.”

Army rebukes Trump campaign over Arlington visit, Vance says Harris ‘can go to hell’

“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked,” the Army said in a statement released Thursday. “ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.”

Making Trump’s very bad week even worse, the former president’s running mate, JD Vance, falsely accused Democratic nominee Kamala Harris of politicizing the cemetery visit − and then cursed her.

“And she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up? She can − she can go to hell,” Vance said.

Are Trump and Vance really the leaders we want representing our nation’s military? I don’t. 

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On the same day that Trump participated in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington, he posted on Truth Social that, “Three years ago, Kamala’s and Biden’s incompetence left 13 dead warriors, hundreds of civilians killed and grievously wounded, and $85 billion worth of the finest military equipment on the planet abandoned to the Taliban.” (In reality, the Taliban captured an estimated $7 billion worth of weapons and other military equipment).

But are President Joe Biden and Harris really to blame for the chaotic withdrawal?

Blaming the current administration ignores the decisions that Trump also made leading up to the withdrawal. Under Trump’s leadership, negotiations for the withdrawal led to an agreement with the Taliban that influenced the eventual outcome. By refusing to acknowledge his role in the preparations for the withdrawal, Trump is attempting to shift blame and mislead Americans. 

Plans by the White House, military leaders, intelligence agencies and international partners for the Afghanistan withdrawal were multifaceted and performed with great scrutiny and caution. 

I interviewed Stephen Bender, a former Marine officer, who worked as a private security officer during the evacuation. His role was to coordinate with the U.S. government to ensure the safe processing of Afghan evacuees and U.S. personnel. He recalled the Taliban’s swift takeover.

“It felt like we were in denial about the withdrawal,” Bender said. “One day, they [the Taliban] were just 20 kilometers away, and it felt as though nothing had changed. Suddenly, they were within the city, only 400 meters from our front gate.”

US ‘abandoned’ people of Afghanistan

Bender said that both Biden and Trump need to acknowledge the mistakes they and others in their administrations made in planning for and executing the exit of American forces from Afghanistan.

“The people of Afghanistan were abandoned by our country,” Bender said. “While it may not affect the average American’s daily life, I witnessed firsthand the failures of our politics. Fathers who wanted a better life for their families, seeking safety for their children, faced the worst possible outcome due to our leaders’ refusal to accept responsibility and their tendency to blame others.”

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Leadership requires more than assigning blame; it demands the courage to face uncomfortable truths, the ability to bring people together in times of crisis and the humility to honor those who have served without exploiting their memory.

When Trump asserts blame for the withdrawal, perhaps we should ask: Can a leader who refuses to take responsibility for his own actions, and who consistently uses moments of national significance for self-promotion, truly be trusted to lead a nation?

Marla Bautista is a military fellow columnist at USA TODAY Opinion.