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Gold Star Families Respond After Harris Attacks Trump Arlington Visit

By Updated: MILITARY

Gold Star families criticized Vice President Kamala Harris after she commented on the controversy surrounding former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington Cemetery to honor the 13 servicemembers who died in the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal.

On Saturday, Harris tweeted criticizing Trump for filming videos during his visit to honor fallen soldiers, asserting that she, unlike him, would “always honor the service and sacrifice of all of America’s fallen heroes.” In response, eight Gold Star families took to Twitter to rebuke Harris, revealing that they had invited Trump to the cemetery for the ceremony and noted that they had not heard from Harris in the three years since their children were killed in the August 2021 terrorist attack in Kabul.



“This is Mark Schmitz, gold star father of Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz. Here we are in a beautiful holiday weekend day, I got to stop what I’m doing, spending time with what’s left of my family, to address a heinous, vile and disgusting post put out by Kamala Harris trying to incite those that don’t follow the truth that President Trump was in Arlington as a political stunt – shows you how much you know about the 13 families, we invited him to be there,” Schmitz said in a video, posted by Trump on the X platform in a reply to Harris’ tweet.

WATCH:

“Groundwork was put into place by Congressman Issa’s office to make sure we followed protocol. Why did we want Trump there? It wasn’t to help his political campaign. We wanted a leader — that explains why you and Joe didn’t get a call. Imagine for a second that your kid is killed. There’s a president in the United States willing to take you under his wing and listen to you. That’s what we found in President Trump, certainly not you, and certainly not Joe Biden,” Schmitz continues in the nearly three-minute video.

“You have 13 families who have been waiting over three years to so much as get a phone call, to so much as hear our kids’ names said aloud in the halls of Congress, the State of the Union, hell, anything. The irony behind your post, that you give a rat’s ass about our military or our veterans, Jared’s brothers and sisters in arms, the rest of the 12, their brothers and sisters in arms, is an outright lie. We’re living proof of that. You’re despicable. You have zero business running this country. And I pray to God Americans wake the hell up and get your ass out of office. You have spit in our face for the last fucking time,” he concluded.

Other Gold Star families posted videos as well.

Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery faced criticism after NPR reported a physical altercation between a Trump campaign official and an Arlington staffer over photography restrictions in Section 60, where recent American war casualties are buried. The Trump team denied these claims, and a source familiar with the event told the Daily Caller that the Gold Star families had approved a campaign photographer taking photos during the ceremony.

Before the ceremony, a Gold Star family told the Caller that Arlington National Cemetery was attempting to impose restrictions to block Trump’s visit despite the families having requested his presence. The situation escalated, prompting Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to step in and ensure Trump’s participation in the ceremony. Neither Biden nor Harris attended a public event to honor the 13 soldiers killed during their administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal. Instead, they issued statements on the morning of the anniversary while Trump visited Arlington.





Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.