Trump and his campaign staffers place a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery and wind up in a fracas with a cemetery official over possible rules violations

Donald Trump lays a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery (Getty)

An official at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) was "pushed aside"as she tried to make sure members of Donald Trump's campaign staff were following the facility's rules, which include no political campaigning and no private photography, according to a report yesterday at Associated Press (AP)

The U.S. Army issued a statement of rebuke to Trump's campaign and said staff members were made aware in advance of rules prohibiting political activity at the cemetery. Under the headline "US Army rebukes Trump campaign for incident at Arlington National Cemetery," CNN's Haley Britzkky reports:

The US Army issued a stark rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign over the incident on Monday at Arlington National Cemetery, saying in a statement on Thursday that participants in the ceremony “were made aware of federal laws” regarding political activity at the cemetery, and “abruptly pushed aside” an employee of the cemetery.

“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside,” the Army spokesperson said in the statement on Thursday. Section 60 is an area in the cemetery largely reserved for the graves of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. 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,” the statement said.

The Army spokesperson said while the incident was reported to the police department at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, the employee in question “decided not to press charges” so the Army “considers this matter closed.

Under the headline "US Army rebukes Trump campaign for incident at Arlington National Cemetery,", Britzky writes:

The US Army issued a stark rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign over the incident on Monday at Arlington National Cemetery, saying in a statement on Thursday that participants in the ceremony “were made aware of federal laws” regarding political activity at the cemetery, and “abruptly pushed aside” an employee of the cemetery.

“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside,” the Army spokesperson said in the statement on Thursday. Section 60 is an area in the cemetery largely reserved for the graves of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. 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,” the statement said.

The Army spokesperson said while the incident was reported to the police department at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, the employee in question “decided not to press charges” so the Army “considers this matter closed.” 

Under the headline "Arlington National Cemetery worker was ‘pushed aside’ in Trump staff dispute but won’t seek charges," AP's Adiana Gomezlicon and Tara Copp write:

An Arlington National Cemetery official was “abruptly pushed aside” in an altercation with former President Donald Trump’s staff during a wreath-laying ceremony to honor service members killed in the Afghanistan War withdrawal, but she declined to press charges, an Army spokesman said Thursday.

The Army spokesman said the cemetery employee was trying to make sure those participating in Monday’s wreath-laying ceremony to mark the third anniversary of the attack were following the rules, which “clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.”

A TikTok video of the visit that was later shared by Trump shows scenes of him at the cemetery and includes a voiceover of the Republican presidential nominee blaming the Biden administration for the “disaster” of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

“This employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption,” the Army spokesman’s statement said. “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”

The incident was reported to the police, but because the employee decided not to press charges, the Army said it considered the matter closed. In response, Chris LaCivita, a top Trump campaign adviser, re-sent a video of Trump at Arlington that he had first put up on X three days ago, adding the message, “Reposting this hoping to trigger the hacks at @SecArmy.”

 

 

As you can tell from LaCivita's comment, Trump seems to have surrounded himself with campaign staffers who appear to have a deficit of class. The AP report provides signs the incident at Arlington was riddled with political opportunism from the get-go. Gomezlicon and Copp write:

The controversy comes as Trump has been working to tie his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, to the chaos of the Afghanistan War withdrawal with just over two months until Election Day. The suicide bombing at the Kabul airport, which killed 13 American service members and more than 170 Afghans on Aug. 26, 2021, was one of the lowest points of the Biden administration and followed a withdrawal commitment and timeline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban the previous year.

Families of three of the slain service members had invited Trump to the ceremony, saying the former president knew their children’s stories and blaming the Biden administration for their deaths. Some of the families of these service members spoke out in support of Trump at the Republican National Convention in July, in part to blunt criticism that Trump wasn’t supportive enough of veterans.

The family members initially struggled to arrange Trump’s visit to the cemetery, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The families had reached out to McCaul because the cemetery had been giving them “a hard time” about coordinating the ceremony with Trump, McCaul’s spokesperson Leslie Shedd said Thursday.

The families said the Army would only allow the ceremony at a specific time that did not work for everyone’s schedule, among other conditions, Shedd said. McCaul then reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson for assistance and tracked the matter until it was resolved, Shedd said.

“I was furious to hear their request to have President Trump join them to commemorate the anniversary of Taylor’s death was being stymied, along with several of the other family members of U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate,” McCaul said in a statement. “Gold Star families have already suffered enough.”

 

 

The Trump campaign has been facing blowback since an NPR report said that two Trump campaign staff members on Monday had “verbally abused and pushed” aside a cemetery official who tried to stop them from filming and photographing in Section 60, the burial site for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Federal law prohibits campaign or election-related activities within Army national military cemeteries. A defense official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said the Trump campaign was warned about not taking photographs in Section 60 before their arrival and the altercation.

The Trump campaign has claimed the Republican presidential nominee’s team was granted access to have a photographer, contested the allegation that a campaign staffer had pushed the cemetery official and pushed back on any notion that the cemetery official had been unfairly targeted.

“This individual was the one who initiated physical contact and verbal harassment that was unwarranted and unnecessary,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said Thursday. “As the Army has said, they consider this matter closed. President Trump was there to support the Gold Star families and honor the sacrifices their loved ones made. Where was Kamala Harris?”

The Trump campaign has also posted a message signed by relatives of two of the service members killed in the bombing that said “the president and his team conducted themselves with nothing but the utmost respect and dignity for all of our service members, especially our beloved children.”

Photos of the cemetery visit showed Trump standing by the graves and flashing a thumbs-up sign next to relatives of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee. He also laid wreaths for Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, whose family was not present.

The family of a decorated Green Beret whose grave appeared in the photos of Trump’s visit issued a statement expressing support for the families who lost loved ones in the Kabul airport bombing, but asking for understanding for the concerns from relatives of service members whose graves were near them.

“We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected accordingly,” said the statement, which was sent by the sister of Silver Star recipient Master Sgt. Andrew C. Marckesano, who died in 2020, on behalf of the family.

The TikTok video shared by Trump shows several clips of his visit to the cemetery. As a guitar strums in the background, there is a voiceover of him saying: “We lost great, great people. What a horrible day it was. We didn’t lose one person in 18 months, and then they took over. That disaster, the leaving of Afghanistan.”

The 18-month stretch without any combat deaths in Afghanistan included about six months of the Biden administration.

Fred Wellman, a 22-year Army veteran who served in Iraq and who is supporting Harris for president, said it was a mistake for the Army to put all of the weight on the Arlington National Cemetery staffer and let the issue go after the staffer decided not to press charges.

“Everyone who is a veteran who served since 9/11 is one to two degrees of separation from someone buried in Section 60,” he said. “The Army is the keeper of that place for us.”

A Pentagon investigation into the deadly attack concluded that the suicide bomber acted alone and that those killings were not preventable. But critics have slammed the Biden administration for the catastrophic evacuation, saying it should have started earlier than it did.

Allison Jaslow, a former Army captain who leads the nonpartisan advocacy organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, applauded when Trump and Harris picked military veterans as their running mates. But she said aspiring elected officials should not campaign at Arlington National Cemetery.

“There are plenty of places appropriate for politics — Arlington is not one of them.”

Trump's trip to Arlington National Cemetery to honor Americans killed in Afghanistan turns into a confrontation between his staff and cemetery officials

(YouTube)

Members of Donald Trump's campaign were involved in a physical and verbal altercation at Arlington Nation Cemetery on Monday during a ceremony to honor 13 Americans who died three years ago during the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, according to accounts from multiple news outlets. The altercation apparently involved members of the cemetery staff. 

From a report at CNN, under the headline "Fresh controversy brews over Trump’s Arlington National Cemetery visit," Colin McCullough writes:

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign stirred new controversy this week during a visit to Arlington National Cemetery that was intended to draw attention to the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

An individual physically blocked Trump’s team from accompanying him during the Monday visit, two Trump campaign officials said. A cemetery spokesperson confirmed to CNN “there was an incident” and a “report was filed” but didn’t provide additional details.

Trump was visiting the cemetery following a wreath laying to honor 13 US military service members who were killed at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate. The Trump campaign posted a video on TikTok of the former president’s visit, which marked three years since the tragedy.

Trump indicated on social media that family members of fallen solders had asked for him to attend the event. It's not clear that members of his campaign staff had permission to be present, or that family members had authority to invite them. McCullough writes:

In a post on Truth Social, Trump appeared to suggest the incident stemmed from his campaign’s use of photography, sharing a statement from the family members of the fallen soldiers expressing their approval.

“We had given our approval for President Trump’s official videographer and photographer to attend the event, ensuring these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured and so we can cherish these memories forever,” the families said.

But according to a statement from Arlington National Cemetery obtained by CNN, federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries. 

The cemetery said it “reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants,” which includes “photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign.”

Trump’s post came after a report from NPR about a “verbal and physical altercation.” A source with knowledge of the incident told the outlet that a cemetery official attempted to prevent Trump’s team from photographing and filming in the area where recent US casualties are buried. In response, Trump campaign staff “verbally abused and pushed the official aside,” according to NPR.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung disputed claims of a physical altercation, but said an unnamed individual decided to “physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.” Cheung suggested that Trump’s team has video to back up the claim.

Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita shared a similar account with CNN, saying in a statement that “President Trump was there on the invitation of the Abbey Gate Gold Star Families to honor their loved ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.”

“For a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump’s team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hollowed [sic] grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Whoever this individual is spreading these lies are dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces, and they are disrespecting everyone who paid the price for defending our country,” LaCivita continued.

Members of Team Trump presented varying accounts, coming from a number of different sources. That seems to have added to confusion about what actually happened. From the CNN report:

Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, dismissed the incident as a “little disagreement” and said the families had “invited (Trump) to be there and to support them.”

“There’s verifiable evidence that the campaign was allowed to have a photographer there,” Vance told reporters Wednesday in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he was campaigning. “There’s verifiable evidence that the families of these poor people who had their loved ones die three years ago at Abbey Road – excuse me, Abbey Gate. Those 13 Americans, a lot of them were there with the president.”

How does Vance know what happened when he was almost 400 miles away at the time. His reliability as a source of information seems dubious at best.

This story, however, might not go away quickly. A member of Virginia's U.S. House delegation made it clear he stands behind the cemetery staff. McCullough writes:

Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly called for Arlington Cemetery leadership to publicly release the report on the incident at the visit, casting doubt on Trump’s intentions and calling his team’s behavior “abhorrent and shameful.”

“I urge Arlington Cemetery to publicly release all that transpired yesterday so the American people can ensure the ground in which our nation’s heroes are buried is not being debased by a man who has no concept of service and sacrifice,” the congressman said.

That was a clear shot at Trump and his record of misbehavior, even at military cemeteries. From a separate report at CNN: 

Donald Trump’s campaign is co-managed by the man who engineered the “swift boating” of John Kerry in 2004, so it should come as no surprise that 20 years later, military service and treatment of veterans are turning into uncomfortable political issues.

Trump pivoted from a visit to Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week to an attack on President Joe Biden’s Afghanistan policy – a turn that apparently followed a dustup with an official at the cemetery over the campaign’s attempt to use cameras in Section 60, an area where American troops who were killed in recent wars are buried. The story was first reported by NPR, but both Trump’s campaign and the cemetery have since issued statements. 

Donald Trump’s campaign is co-managed by the man who engineered the “swift boating” of John Kerry in 2004, so it should come as no surprise that 20 years later, military service and treatment of veterans are turning into uncomfortable political issues.

Trump pivoted from a visit to Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week to an attack on President Joe Biden’s Afghanistan policy – a turn that apparently followed a dustup with an official at the cemetery over the campaign’s attempt to use cameras in Section 60, an area where American troops who were killed in recent wars are buried. The story was first reported by NPR, but both Trump’s campaign and the cemetery have since issued statements.

The cemetery’s statement, according to CNN’s report, noted that federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries. Trump’s campaign noted that he was invited into Section 60 by Gold Star families.

There was a moving moment earlier in the summer when Gold Star families whose loved ones died in the Abbey Gate attack in Afghanistan gathered on stage at the Republican National Convention and condemned the Biden administration.

Setting aside the unknown details of what exactly transpired at the cemetery, Trump’s trip to Arlington certainly played into a political context since it was woven into a day of campaigning focused on the military and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021:

► The cemetery trip coincided with the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 American service members in Afghanistan.

► On social media and later during a speech to a National Guard conference in Detroit, Trump criticized Biden’s decision to finalize the military withdrawal from Afghanistan – although Trump didn’t mention he had accelerated that withdrawal during his final months in the White House.

► Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard endorsed Trump at that speech. Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, has been a vocal critic of US military policy.

Trump’s previous visit to Section 60 also led to criticism

It’s notable that the summer is ending with controversy over Trump’s decision to visit Section 60 as a candidate, since the summer began with Biden’s look back at criticism of Trump’s decision as president not to visit a US military cemetery in France in 2018 and comments he reportedly made during a visit to Arlington National Cemetery’s Section 60 in 2017.

At the CNN presidential debate in June that was the beginning of the end of Biden’s presidential campaign, the president recalled a 2020 report in The Atlantic that Trump refused to visit a cemetery near Paris honoring Americans who died in World War I because they were “losers.”

Trump denied using that term, which came from a recounting of the incident by retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, his former White House chief of staff. Kelly later confirmed elements of the Atlantic story to CNN’s Jake Tapper and also discussed a Memorial Day ceremony in 2017 when the two were in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery. “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?” Trump said at the time, according to Kelly’s recollection, which Trump denies. 

Kelly also had choice words for Trump recently when the former president tried to compare the Congressional Medal of Honor, awarded to war heroes, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which honors civilians and which Trump gave to a Republican megadonor.

“Not even close,” Kelly told Tapper.

Trump has a history of mocking or verbally attacking veterans. He repeatedly criticized the late Sen. John McCain for being taken as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, including in remarks this year. He tried to start rumors about the absence of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s husband from the campaign trail during the Republican primary this year even though Haley’s husband was deployed overseas.

Haley condemned Trump’s comments at the time, while she was still in the race, but she later spoke on his behalf at the RNC in July.

Attacks on Walz

Military service had already emerged as a campaign issue after Trump’s campaign engaged in a concerted effort to question the 24-year military service of Democrats’ candidate for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The public face of that effort is Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who was enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in Iraq. See CNN’s fact check of Vance’s claims.

Asked Wednesday about the Arlington controversy, Vance deflected back to his criticism of Walz’s military record and said Vice President Kamala Harris can “go to hell” for the Biden administration’s Afghanistan policy.

For comparison, every president, Republican or Democrat, from Dwight D. Eisenhower through Richard Nixon, served in World War II. So did George H.W. Bush. Carter enrolled at the Naval Academy during the war.

A slew of Vietnam War veterans, including McCain, Kerry and Gore, were on the losing end of presidential campaigns.

A rising generation of veterans in office

There are signs of a resurgence of lawmakers who served. Both parties today are showcasing their rising stars who served in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

Democrats have Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and a host of House members, many of whom gathered on stage at the DNC last week.

Republicans have Vance, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas and many, many others.

After learning he has been re-indicted in the Jan. 6 election-interference case, Donald Trump unleashes an epic rant in the direction of Special Counsel Jack Smith

Trump, Smith, and boxes of Mar-a-Lago evidence

 

Special Counsel Jack Smith has issued a new indictment against former President Donald Trump in the Jan. 6 election-interference case. In a joint reporting effort with The New York Times, Yahoo! Politics Editor David Knowles reports under the headline "Special counsel files new superseding indictment against Trump in response to Supreme Court immunity ruling." Knowles writes:

Special counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment Tuesday in the Jan. 6 election interference case against former President Donald Trump that tailored the details of the allegations in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling that presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts.

In an effort to comply with the high court’s June ruling, Smith presented a second Washington grand jury with the same four charges in Tuesday’s indictment that he charged Trump with last August.

Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Knowles addresses several questions that Smith's new filing raises:

What’s changed?

A section from the original indictment that is absent from the new one accused Trump of pressuring the Justice Department to allow states to withhold their electors in the 2020 election. That effort set up a confrontation between Trump and then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and other administration officials who threatened to resign should Trump require them to move ahead with that plan.

Delay explained

Earlier this month, Smith’s team submitted a legal filing with Judge Tanya Chutkan saying that the government was requesting “additional time to provide the Court with an informed proposal regarding the schedule for pretrial proceedings moving forward."

Given that Smith was in the process of obtaining a new superseding indictment from a grand jury, the reasons for that requested delay have now become apparent.

Trump's response

Shortly after the new indictment was announced, Trump lashed out at Smith.

"In an effort to resurrect a 'dead' Witch Hunt in Washington, D.C., in an act of desperation, and in order to save face, the illegally appointed 'Special Counsel' Deranged Jack Smith, has brought a ridiculous new Indictment against me, which has all the problems of the old Indictment, and should be dismissed IMMEDIATELY," he wrote in a post on Truth Social.

As you probably have guessed by now, Trump was not about to let it go without hurling more invective in Smith's direction, as summarized under a separate Yahoo! post, with the title "Trump Erupts Over reindictment On Coup Attempt Charges." Shruti Rajkumar writes:

Trump said it was “shocking” that he had been reindicted “immediately after our Supreme Court Victory on Immunity and more.”

“I’ve also been informed by my attorneys, that you’re not even allowed to bring cases literally right before an Election – A direct assault on Democracy!” he wrote, adding, “This is an unprecedented abuse of the Criminal Justice System.”

Trump also claimed, without evidence, that Vice President Kamala Harris is “actively pushing” the reindictment

“Smith rewrote the exact same case in an effort to circumvent the Supreme Court Decision. The people of our Country will see what is happening with all of these corrupt lawsuits against me, and will REJECT them by giving me an overwhelming Victory on November 5th for President of the United States,” he predicted.

Relatively objective observers took a more favorable view of Smith's filings. One such person was former Trump lawyer Ty Cobb. A piece from Raw Story, under the headline "''Threads the needle': Ex-Trump lawyer praises Jack Smith's 'crisply worded' re-indictment," explains, with Daniel Hampton writing: 

A former lawyer for Donald Trump would be "scratching his head" if the MAGA leader's current lawyers were surprised by Jack Smith's trimmed-down superseding indictment Tuesday against the former president.

Ty Cobb spoke with Erin Burnett on CNN's OutFront on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the case, telling the anchor he believes the slimmed-down case makes it clear that Trump's acts were personal, rather than official acts.

"This is a very forceful document," he said. "It's pared down. Every sentence is crisply worded. It's a tight narrative. You can't read this and not understand the crimes that Trump actually committed." 

"I think it does," said Cobb, noting that some of Smith's editing was "spot on" that emphasized the "private nature of many of these acts."

He pointed to the private funding of a speech before the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, as well as Mike Pence's "ceremonial role" in certifying the election and the non-governmental roles of the co-conspirators who were also acting in a "private capacity."

"I think this threads the needle. If I'm Trump's lawyers and I'm surprised I'm scratching my head at that because this was the reasonable approach to take," he said.

Cobb said it made more sense to put forth a "forceful case like this" rather than go through a slew of hearings before Judge Tanya Chutkin and have her edit the indictment.

When asked if the case would proceed quickly or slowly, Cobb said it would likely proceed slowly. Chutkin will still have a hearing on the whittled-down indictment, he noted. 

While parts of the case have gone in Trump's favor, Cobb says he still faces significant legal jeopardy:

To boot, Cobb believes an appeal is still available, though the Supreme Court may not take it.

"This hasn't been on course to go before the election for months," he said. "That always was never going to happen."

Cobb said that while the 78-year-old Trump won't likely receive a 55-year sentence, he could see six to nine "once convicted."

That raises this question: If Trump wins the election on Nov. 5, 2024,  and is later convicted in the election-interference case, could we have a TWICE convicted felon leading our country -- and perhaps trying to do it from inside a prison cell -- under a sentence that could cover his first term and a second term, if Americans are stupid enough to re-elect a federal inmate. Numerous news outlets have reported under the assumption that Trump can close any criminal case against him once in office. My research indicates that is a tricky legal issue, and Trump might find it is not as easy to pull off as many observers seem to assume. We will examine this issue more closely in upcoming posts. This much seems certain: Having a president trying to operate his office from behind prison bars would make the United States the laughing stock of the world. And we would have no one but ourselves to blame. Here is a final thought from Ty Cobb:

Even so, Cobb doubted that Trump would take the case seriously until the "final gavel" came down.

You can watch video of the Cobb-Burnett interview at this link.

Kamala Harris has only been in presidential race for roughly a month, but that has not kept her from taking a sizable 7-point lead over Donald Trump in latest polls

(Marquette Law School)

 

Democrat Kamala Harris has been in the presidential race for just more than a month, but that has not kept her from taking a 7-point lead over Republican Donald Trump, according to the most recent polling data. Newsweek summarizes the numbers under the headline "Kamala Harris Takes 7-Point Lead Over Donald Trump in New National Poll, Reporter Amanda Tannen writes:

A newly released national poll finds Vice President Kamala Harris is leading former President Donald Trump by a 7-point margin.

Harris, who accepted the Democratic Party's nomination Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), has been in the presidential race for just over a month following President Joe Biden's exit on July 21.

Over the past few weeks, a majority of national aggregate polls have found an extremely tight race between Harris and Trump, the GOP nominee. However, most national aggregates show Harris in the lead nationally, though the two are deadlocked in battleground states that are often most indicative of the path to the White House.

On Friday, Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) and Braun Research released a new poll of 801 registered voters conducted between August 17 and 20, finding that 50 percent of voters support a Harris presidency while 43 percent support Trump. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Broken down by party, 95 percent of surveyed Democrats, 38 percent of independents, and 2 percent of Republicans back Harris. A third of independents, 33 percent, back Trump, while 95 percent of Republicans and 3 percent of Democrats support him.

The poll was conducted while independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was still in the race. Kennedy Jr. officially dropped out on Friday and endorsed Trump. National aggregate polls found Kennedy Jr. drawing about 5 percent of the vote, a figure that could influence the outcome of the election given the small margin between Trump and Harris.

Contrary to the FDU poll's findings, a Rasmussen Reports poll released Thursday found Trump leading Harris by 3 percentage points, 49 to 46 percent. The survey of 1,893 likely voters was conducted on August 15 and between August 18 and 21. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Aggregate polls can produce a variety of results, but most show Harris maintaining a lead in a race that has been tight for several weeks now. Tannen writes:

Most national aggregate polls place Harris at the top of the race, with RealClearPolitics showing Harris up by 1.5 percentage points, 48.4 percent to Trump's 46.9 percent, and The New York Times aggregate showing Harris with a 2-percentage point lead, 49 to 47 percent.

Other aggregates show larger margins, such as FiveThirtyEight, which finds Harris up by 3.6 percentage points on Saturday, 47.2 to 43.6 percent. Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin also shows Harris leading, putting her at 48 percent and Trump at 43.7 percent.

Aggregate polls are consistently updated as new polling data is added, shifting the averages in real time. National aggregate polls serve as a "temperature check" and can capture popular vote support, but they don't necessarily translate to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to clinch the White House. Here is a summary of data from a Marquette University Law School poll.

Harris and Walz take their progressive message on a bus tour through Georgia, as enthusiasm from DNC helps generate record amounts of campaign funds

Kamala Harris greets a jubilant crowd at the DNC (Getty)

 

Are Democrats enthusiastic about Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, which is just little more than a month old? Relevant data suggests the answer is yes, making it hard to remember a time when Democrats were so unified behind a candidate at the top of their ticket. Will the "Harris Honeymoon" last well into the foreseeable future? That's hard to say, but a reasonable observer probably would expect some peaks and valleys along the way. This much, however, seems certain: Harris and running mate Tim Walz have done a remarkable job of turning around a campaign that seemed to be languishing not too long ago. Even pollsters for Republican Donald Trump now predict a prolonged polling bounce for Harris after the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

That makes sense considering one report has Harris raising $82 million during the DNC, a record for any candidate during a convention week. Reuters provides details at the Microsoft Network (MSN), under the headline "Harris raises $540 million since launching her presidential campaign." Reporter Steve Holland writes:

Democrat Kamala Harris has raised $540 million in little more than a month since she began her race for U.S. president, with a surge of donations flowing in during the Democratic National Convention last week, her campaign said on Sunday.

A memo released by Harris' campaign manager, Jen O'Malley Dillon, said the $540 million raised included $82 million that came in during convention week and is a sign of Democratic enthusiasm for her candidacy.

"This is the most ever for any presidential campaign in this time span," she said.

Vice President Harris became a candidate for president on July 21 when President Joe Biden stepped aside under pressure from fellow Democrats concerned about his cognitive ability after he stumbled during a June 27 debate against Republican Donald Trump.

The Harris candidacy has generated momentum that has put Trump on the defensive and he has struggled to maintain the media spotlight on him.

Harris and her vice presidential running mate, Tim Walz, take their campaign for the White House on a bus tour through Georgia this week, looking to build support in a state looming large in the Nov. 5 election.

Donald Trump's latest insult to military personnel has drawn the wrath of the VFW and should enrage all would-be voters who have a functioning conscience

Donald Trump shakes hands with D-Day veterans (U.S. DOD)

 

One of America's largest veterans-advocacy groups has called Donald Trump's comments "asinine" after the Republican presidential candidate compared various medals and concluded that the best ones are those that go to civilians because those recipients tend not to be injured, disabled, or dead. A reasonable person might conclude this is a controversy that easily could have been avoided. After all, is there any need to compare such medals? Is there any reason to declare that one is better than the others? Isn't it an issue that is sure to launch discord and would best be left untouched?  But this is Donald Trump we are talking about here, so he avoided any sign of rational thought, dove headlong into a non-issue, and left a smoldering pile of discord in his wake. 

How did such an unnecessary blowup come to pass? Reporter Eden Teshome, of The Hill, provides insight  under the headline "Veterans of Foreign Wars blasts Trump’s statement as ‘asinine’ Teshome writes:

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), one of the nation’s largest and oldest veteran advocacy organizations, on Friday condemned former President Trump’s recent statement comparing the Medal of Honor to a presidential award for civilians, calling his remarks “asinine.”

“These asinine comments not only diminish the significance of our nation’s highest award for valor, but also crassly characterized the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty,” wrote VFW National Commander Al Lipphardt in a Friday statement.

The VFW’s reaction comes after Trump equated the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to civilians, to the Medal of Honor, which is awarded to soldiers wounded in the line of combat.

“That’s the highest award you can get as a civilian. It’s the equivalent of the congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version,” Trump told attendees at an event at his Bedminster, N.J., club, attended by GOP mega-donor Miriam Adelson, who was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 2018.

“It’s actually much better, because everyone who gets the congressional Medal of Honor, that’s soldiers, they’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead. She gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman,” Trump said in reference to Adelson. “And they’re rated equal.”

The moment sparked an onslaught of condemnations from veterans-rights advocates and allies.

The words above were not coming from just any politician -- they came from a man who, as of January 2025,  hopes to be commander in chief -- even though he has a long history of insulting officers, rank-and-file troops, prisoners of war, the military dead, just about anyone who ever has worn the uniform. (See here, here, here, here, and here.) Trump even has suggested a high-ranking official should be executed for displeasing him as president.

Trump seems to have a knack for showing disrespect toward military personnel. Teshome writes:

This is not the first time the former president has attracted attention for disparaging comments about wounded veterans. In 2020, the VFW demanded an apology from the president after Trump downplayed the injuries to 34 service members who suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of retaliatory Iranian airstrikes by saying that they had “headaches.”

“[Traumatic brain injury] is a serious injury and one that cannot be taken lightly,” the organization wrote at the time. “The VFW expects an apology from the president to our service men and women for his misguided remarks.”

The Trump camp has not backed away from the former president’s most recent comments.

In an interview on NewsNation with Leland Vittert, Trump campaign senior adviser Corey Lewandowski defended Trump’s remarks as Vittert asked whether he was doubling down on them.

“Because there are some people who don’t serve in our military but should still be recognized with the highest honor our country has to offer them,” Lewandowski told NewsNation on Friday evening in response to questions from Vittert about Trump’s remarks.

The clip was reposted by Kamala HQ, the Harris campaign’s rapid response team. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill.

The controversy comes as Republicans attempt to attack the service record of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Harris’s running mate, alleging that discrepancies in his public comments amount to stolen valor. Walz served as an enlisted member of the Army National Guard. Republican Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, is also a veteran, having served in the Marines during the Iraq War.

Following Harris’s VP announcement, Lipphardt lauded both campaigns for selecting veterans. Ahead of the election, however, VFW’s confidence in the Republican campaign appears to have soured.

“When a candidate to serve as commander-in-chief so brazenly dismisses the valor and reverence symbolized by the Medal of Honor, I question whether they would discharge their responsibilities with the seriousness and discernment necessary,” Lipphardt concluded in his statement. 

“It is even more disappointing when these comments come from a man who has  served in this noble office and frankly should already know better.”

For several months, I've been wondering how any American with functioning brain cells could support Trump. Following Trump's most recent insults toward military personnel, I don't see how a single American could vote for the guy. His disrespect toward the military, in my view, make him unfit to serve as president. How bad have Trump's words and actions been? He reportedly called American dead, buried at a cemetery in France, "suckers" and "losers."

I've never served in the military, but I find such language highly offensive. Like many other American families, the Shulers have skin in this "game. As I reported in June, my father, William J. Shuler, was in a squadron that arrived for a recovery mission at Normandy three days after the D-Day Invasion. 

Another relative, a man named Elijah Stamps from my mother's side of the family in Arkansas, fought in Southwest Missouri for the Confederate Army at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, which was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. 

 Elijah Stamps, while on the battlefield, wrote a letter to his wife, Elvira. Based on my knowledge of our family history, Elijah Stamps survived the battle, and his letter somehow wound up with my mother, who treasured it for decades and ultimately made sure it became part of the battlefield's museum collection.

 As for the 2024 election, I don't see how any American could cast a vote for someone as despicable as Donald Trump. That decision, of course, rests with the would-be voter, not me.

But in my view, you cannot be a Donald Trump supporter and a patriotic American. He has stated many times that, if elected, he intends to act outside our constitution and usher in an authoritarian regime that might end American democracy forever. (See here and here.) Vote for Donald Trump, if you must, but don't try to con the rest of us into believing you are  a patriot. Your vote will mark you as not even close  to being a patriot.

For those who are interested in digging deeper into issues raised in this post, I highly recommend an article by Robert Kagan, in The Washington Post under the headline "We have a radical democracy. Will Trump voters destroy it?" (April 24, 2024). Trump and his supporters certainly would be wise to read Kagan's piece. They might discover that achieving his stated, undemocratic, goals, will be far more difficult than they might have imagined. 

If you care at all about your country, I have a suggestion. Save all of us a lot of time and trouble and cast your vote for someone who actually is fit to serve as president . . .  someone like Kamala Harris.