US Vice President Kamala Harris criticised Republican presidential rival Donald Trump over a visit he made to soldiers’ graves at Arlington National Cemetery that was later used in campaign video footage.
“It is a solemn place; a place where we come together to honour American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of this nation. It is not a place for politics,” Ms Harris wrote in a post on X.
The vice president weighed in five days after Mr Trump took part in a wreath-laying ceremony honouring the 13 service members killed during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
He also visited Section 60 of the Virginia cemetery, which the military considers hallowed ground. Federal law and Pentagon policies do not allow political activities in that section, but Mr Trump’s campaign took videos and used them for advertisement purposes as he battles Democrat Ms Harris in a close race for the White House.
Mr Trump’s visit drew criticism from some veterans and soldiers’ relatives. The US Army defended a cemetery employee who was pushed aside at Section 60, saying she acted professionally and was being unfairly attacked.
“Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt,” Ms Harris wrote.
During a speech in Pennsylvania on Friday, Mr Trump said families of service members who died in Afghanistan had asked him to go to Arlington National Cemetery.
“I got there, and we had a ceremony,” Mr Trump said. They then asked if he could come to the graves, Mr Trump said, and then they sought a photo. “I said ‘absolutely.’ So, I was taking pictures at the grave,” he said.
Mr Trump’s vice-presidential pick JD Vance and press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to Ms Harris’ post with their own that referenced the Afghanistan pullout and accused Ms Harris of being insensitive to the service members who died there.
“Why don’t you get off social media and go launch an investigation into their unnecessary deaths?” Mr Vance wrote.
Mr Trump used the third anniversary of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan to try to pin the chaotic pullout under President Joe Biden on his vice president.
Ms Harris, 59, became the Democratic nominee for the 5 November presidential election after Mr Biden, 81, pulled out of the race in July.
The vice president’s response to the Mr Trump cemetery visit may give a clue to how she would handle the topic in their upcoming 10 September debate.
Ms Harris referred to Mr Trump’s history of insulting military veterans.
“This is nothing new from Donald Trump. This is a man who has called our fallen service members ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’ and disparaged Medal of Honor recipients,” she wrote.
Mr Trump once said the late Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate, was not a war hero even though he spent years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam after being shot down while a Navy pilot.
Mr Trump referred to fallen World War I veterans as “suckers” and “losers,” according to his former White House chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general. Mr Trump continues to dispute that report.
It was unclear whether such incidents would sway the veteran’s vote. In an April report, the Pew Research Centre found that military veterans favour the Republican Party.