JD Vance attempts to shrink Arlington National Cemetery incident as a "little disagreement"

Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance downplayed reports that Trump campaign members pushed an Arlington National Cemetery staffer enforcing policies at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday afternoon.

“It is amazing to me that . . . some staff member had a little disagreement with somebody and the media has turned this into a national news story,” Vance said, referring to an altercation condemned by veterans and Democratic elected officials as deeply disrespectful.

Vance went on to repeat claims that Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz, who served in the National Guard, “lied about his military service.”

Trump’s photo-op in Arlington on Monday ruffled feathers when reports emerged that the candidate’s team had gotten into a physical altercation with cemetery staff, who were attempting to inform the campaign of a rule against filming in a section where recent U.S. military casualties were buried. The cemetery confirmed the altercation in a statement to NPR and said the campaign’s activities were prohibited.

“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,” the cemetery said.

As the cemetery notes in its media policy, it enforces a ban on filming for political or fundraising purposes as mandated by the Hatch Act, a law banning civil service employees from engaging in political acts in the workplace.

Vance, whose candidacy has been plagued by resurfaced recordings and awkward public appearances, slammed the Biden administration’s response to the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan, which he referred to in a verbal slip as “Abbey Road,” when asked about the Arlington altercation.

Vance accused Vice President Kamala Harris of being “asleep at the wheel” for failing to investigate the incident, a duty far outside the scope of the office of the Vice President.

“She can go to hell,” Vance said of Harris.

In a later event in Wisconsin on Wednesday, Vance added that the media was "acting like Donald Trump filmed a TV commercial at a gravesite," defending the act while acknowledging cameras were present to capture the moment.