When the Removal of a Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery Attracts More Attention than the Disgraceful Behavior of Donald Trump

(Source: Axios)

Earlier this summer, 194 House Republicans voted to reinstall the Confederate monument in Arlington National Cemetery that had been removed in December 2023, following an extensive review process by the military. These Republicans offered a number of different arguments from the claim that the monuments removal constituted an erasure of history to allegations that it dishonored the memory of all servicemen and women buried at Arlington.

While I disagreed with the substance of these arguments, I agree with the overall concern expressed that any decision impacting the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery ought to be done only after careful consideration and always with the awareness that what matters most is preserving the dignity of the dead.

I’ve spent countless hours over the years at Arlington National Cemetery, mainly in the role as guide and educator. The experience never gets old. You can’t step on the grounds without immediately feeling overwhelmed by the history and sacrifice that is represented by the rows upon rows of grave markers. 

I don’t think I have ever visited without being forced to stop and pay respects to a passing burial party. Arlington is a working cemetery. All visitors, regardless of their reasons for visiting, should be expected to conduct themselves in a way that is befitting this sacred space.

With this in mind, you can imagine my surprise upon reading about former president Donald Trump’s recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery. 

During a visit on Monday, Trump used Section 60 as a backdrop for a campaign ad that has since appeared on Tik Tok. Keep in mind that this particular area is reserved for service members killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. 

According to cemetery officials: “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.” 

A Trump staff member allegedly pushed aside a cemetery official after being notified that their photography violated Arlington’s rules. That official decided not to press charges, but I have little doubt that an altercation occurred.

Then there is this utterly disgraceful photograph of Trump and the family of a fallen serviceman smiling and giving the thumbs up to the camera. I am not one to criticize military families. I suspect that this is not the family photograph that would have been (if at all) taken had Trump not been present. Either way, a former commander-in-chief must be held to a much higher standard. 

Of course, this is not the first time that Trump has denigrated the military and disrespected America’s fallen calling them “losers” and suckers” and most recently in his comments about the recipients of the Medal of Honor.

What I want to know is where are those 194 House Republicans, who spoke in support of returning a Confederate monument to Arlington? Why are they not speaking out now against Trump’s behavior at Arlington? How can the removal of a 110-year old monument mobilize members of a Party that has traditionally claimed to champion the military, but the actions of a former president and their own presidential candidate fail to elicit a single voice? 

Even more telling. Where is the outrage from the Confederate heritage community and the authors of countless social media posts who decried the removal of the Confederate monument, in part, because it disrespected the memory of those buried in Arlington—a monument they mistakenly referred to as a “Reconciliation Monument”?

Silence.  

Of all the issues that currently divide Americans, this shouldn’t be one of them and I suspect that before Trump the question of how a visitor should behave at Arlington didn’t. 

There is no bottom to Trump’s ability to erode those last threads of decency that hold us together as a nation. 

The men and women buried in Arlington represent every war and conflict waged—for better and for worse—throughout our history. Each and every grave marker is itself a monument to service and sacrifice.

These are the monuments that should matter the most and as Americans we should be united around any attempt to denigrate their service and memory for political reasons, especially from the commander-in-chief, who has the power to order Americans into harm’s way.