(News Nation) — Reported Argument A dispute between Donald Trump's campaign staff and Arlington National Cemetery officials is unlikely to affect the November vote, New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said.
“Trump is very unique in that respect because he connects with people in that he instinctively wants to fight. People want someone to fight,” Sununu said during an appearance on “NewsNation Now” on Thursday. “People are willing to forgive everything else because he's willing to fight and to cause chaos.”
The Republican presidential candidate visited the cemetery on Monday to pay tribute to 13 service members who died during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Two of Trump's staff members became involved in an “altercation and physical altercation” with cemetery staff who tried to prevent them from taking pictures and photographs in the military burial area. An anonymous source told NPR earlier this week.Federal Law Prohibit election campaigning and election-related activities Inside the Army National Military Cemetery.
“Participants in the Aug. 26 ceremony and subsequent Section 60 visit were aware of federal law, Army regulations and Department of Defense policy which explicitly prohibit political activity on cemetery grounds,” the U.S. Army said in an official statement.
Accounts of the visit vary. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang disputed the report, saying his team was “prepared to release the footage if such defamatory allegations are made,” while Arlington National Cemetery issued a statement saying it confirmed the incident and had filed a report.
Cemetery officials chose not to press charges. The Associated Press reported.
Either way, Sununu doesn't think the reported altercation will hurt the Trump campaign: He said personal military messaging hasn't been an effective attack strategy so far in the 2024 race.
“We have to respect that every American has different priorities and may have different breaking points,” Sununu said. “If something goes wrong at Arlington, that's a breaking point for somebody. And I don't think there are many of them.”
As the presidential election nears, Trump has sought to link his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, to withdrawal from the Afghanistan war. The suicide bombing at Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021, that killed 13 U.S. soldiers and more than 170 Afghans, was one of the low points of the Biden administration and was in line with the withdrawal promises and timeline that the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban the previous year.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
