The battle between Harris' and Trump's campaigns over patriotism and military service has intensified, marking the latest controversial attack during the election cycle.
Democrats have slammed former President Trump over reported clashes between campaign staff and cemetery officials at Arlington National Cemetery last week, while Republicans continue to raise questions about the military service of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.
The latest attack comes on the heels of a Change Research poll released Wednesday that showed Trump leading among active-duty military members and their families.
According to the poll, Trump leads Harris among veterans, 51 percent to 41 percent, among active-duty military members, 49 percent to 44 percent and among their families, 47 percent to 45 percent.
“[Trump’s] “Trump's character, patriotism and promise to solve the big problems in veterans' care are the reasons he has been so popular with veterans and active duty military alike,” said John Ullyot, a former Marine who served as spokesman for the Trump administration's National Security Council.
Still, the former president has faced intense criticism, particularly over his recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery to memorialize 13 soldiers who died during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago.
NPR first reported that the clash occurred between cemetery officials and Trump campaign staff who were filming and taking photos in Section 60, a restricted area where recently deceased soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried.
In a statement last week, the Army said officials had tried to enforce rules banning political activity on cemetery grounds but were ignored. “Officials subsequently decided not to press charges,” the Army said, “and we consider the matter resolved.”
The Trump campaign, however, insisted there was no physical confrontation and that filming was permitted on the grounds.
But that did not soften the criticism.
On Tuesday, Jimmy McCain, son of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), slammed Trump for visiting the cemetery and supported Harris, who said in a statement about the reported incident last week that “the former president desecrated this sacred site for political stunts.”
“The moment that the images from the cemetery were used everywhere, in ads, on social media and everywhere else, for partisan political purposes, the moral ground he was relying on collapsed,” said Mike Lavigne, a retired Army sergeant major and senior adviser to the progressive group Boat Vets.
“More Americans need to pay attention,” Lavigne said. “If that's the level of respect he's willing to show to Americans who died at Arlington, how is he going to handle being held accountable in the Oval Office once again?”
Republicans have sought to highlight that Trump was commemorating fallen soldiers on the third anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and are placing the blame on Ms Harris and President Biden.
Last week, the Trump campaign released a statement from Gold Star families who had invited Trump to Arlington, accusing Harris of politicizing the event.
“President Trump was invited by us, Gold Star families, to attend a solemn ceremony marking three years since the deaths of our children,” the statement said. “He was there to honor the sacrifice of our children, yet Vice President Harris exploited this sacred moment for political tactics.”
Trump has faced criticism since he criticized McCain for being a former POW in 2015, and over an Atlantic magazine article in which he called fallen soldiers “stupid losers” – comments Trump has repeatedly denied.
But Trump's supporters point to his veterans and national security policies, including the passage of the Veterans Choice Act and efforts to reduce homelessness among veterans.
“[Trump] “He has a track record that is second to none over the last 25 years on both veterans' issues and national security,” Ullyot said. “He got us out of endless wars, while at the same time using the military to do what they do best: kill bad guys around the world,” he added, referring to the strikes to eliminate Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Walz's own military record has come under scrutiny from Republicans, who have raised questions about his time in the Army National Guard, when he retired, the rank he retired from and the imprecise language he used to describe how he bore arms in a war several years ago.
The Minnesota governor referred to “weapons of war” when talking about gun violence in a 2018 speech. Harris' campaign said the governor “misspoke” at the time. Vice presidential candidate Walz has also been criticized by Republicans for resigning from the National Guard before running for Congress in 2005, saying he left before deploying overseas. But Walz began his campaign months before the troops were activated.
The Harris campaign also received backlash for calling Walz a “retired Army sergeant major,” a rank he achieved but did not meet the requirements to maintain before retiring.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Trump's running mate and a former Marine, accused Walz of “stealing bravery,” while a group of 50 Republican senators wrote that Walz was downplaying “the real sacrifices made by veterans who actually served in combat.”
“Veterans never brag about their accomplishments, and if someone does brag and it turns out they're exaggerating their accomplishments, there's a recognition that there's nothing worse for a veteran,” Ulliott said. “I wouldn't use the words stolen valor or anything like that, others might say that, but the first lesson of being a veteran is to be humble about your accomplishments, even if you're a true war hero.”
Asked about his military career in an interview with CNN last month, Walz said he was “very proud” of his 24 years of service and that his record “speaks for itself.”
Lavigne said she believes Walz made the right decision to run for Congress after retiring from the military after 24 years of service, citing his work with military members, veterans and military families in the House.
“I'm not a big fan of the veteran-on-veteran violence that's going on in politics right now,” Lavigne said. “There's comparisons of who's been in combat, what combat is, am I a combat veteran, am I just deployed?”
“To me, that makes our whole experience worthwhile.”
