WASHINGTON, Aug 28, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Donald Trump was embroiled in
controversy Wednesday after a report that his entourage shoved staff during a
politicized visit to the United States's most hallowed resting place for its
war dead.

National Public Radio reported late Tuesday that an Arlington National
Cemetery official tried to prevent the Republican's aides from filming and
photographing in a section reserved for those killed in recent wars -- and
where filming is banned.

Trump staffers responded by shoving and verbally abusing the employee, the
report said.

Arlington National Cemetery confirmed on Wednesday there had been an
"incident" at the location, after the 78-year-old Republican presidential
candidate's visit on Monday.

Accompanied by top election aides, Trump was taking part in a wreath-laying
with family members of some of the 13 service members killed three years ago
in Kabul during the desperate last hours of the US pull-out from Afghanistan,
ending a 20-year war against the Taliban.

Trump was invited to the ceremony by the families. He has made criticism of
President Joe Biden's handling of the final US retreat from Afghanistan a key
note of his reelection campaign, arguing that he would have managed the
withdrawal in the face of a sudden and complete Taliban victory better.

The withdrawal was made as part of a peace deal signed by the Trump
administration with the Taliban in Doha in February 2020.

After the visit to Arlington cemetery, Trump's campaign posted a photo of the
former president standing with the relatives and giving a thumbs-up gesture.

Arlington National Cemetery, just outside Washington, said "federal law
prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army
National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or
any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan
political candidate's campaign."

The cemetery "reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with
all participants," it said.

Trump's campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita issued a very different
interpretation of the dispute, saying a "despicable individual" had blocked
the former president's team.

It is "a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hallowed grounds of
Arlington National Cemetery," he said.

Trump also posted a statement on social media attributed to relatives of
victims of the 2021 bombing, which said they had approved having Trump's
media team present.

The Abbey Gate suicide bombing at Kabul's airport killed scores of local
people and 13 American troops -- the last US troops to die in the war.

The uproar over the Arlington incident is the latest in a long line of
controversies over Trump's relationship with the military.

While often touting his support for the armed forces, he privately mocked the
war dead while president and did not want to be seen near military amputees,
according to his former chief of staff.