Team Trump didn’t like the Arlington story, so they rewrote it

It would be an overstatement to suggest Donald Trump was the first national politician to instigate a controversy at Arlington National Cemetery. In fact, during the 2000 presidential election, then-Sen. John McCain’s campaign released an ad that featured the Arizona Republican walking through the cemetery.

The U.S. Army wasted little time explaining that this wasn’t allowed; the ad was quickly edited; and as a New York Times report reminded the public over the Labor Day weekend, the GOP senator conceded that his political operation had made “a very bad mistake.”

Nearly 25 years later, another Republican presidential candidate is at the center of a similar controversy, but those waiting for a similar statement of contrition will likely be waiting for an exceedingly long time. From the Times’ report:

The core details of the former president’s controversy are difficult to dispute. Team Trump was made aware of federal laws, Army regulations, and Pentagon policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. Team Trump apparently decided to ignore those restrictions, and according to an official written statement from the U.S. Army, when an employee who works at the cemetery attempted to ensure adherence to the rules, she was “abruptly pushed aside,” despite Trump campaign denials about a physical altercation.

The Republican candidate couldn’t followed McCain’s example and acknowledged the “very bad mistake.” Trump and his aides instead lashed out the cemetery employee — a campaign spokesperson told the media she had a “mental health episode” — before ultimately calling the office of the Army Secretary a bunch of “hacks.”

In the days that followed, Trump characterized himself as a victim of the controversy, labeled the scandal a “hoax,” suggested Gold Star families might’ve been responsible for a possible “setup,” concocted new allegations about Biden White House involvement without a shred of evidence, and felt justified in attacking Vice President Kamala Harris.

In my new book, I write about Republican efforts to rewrite recent history, as GOP leaders respond to indefensible circumstances by effectively telling Americans not to believe their lying eyes. It’s a systemic approach to democracy and reality, and the gaslighting invariably follows a certain pattern.

It’s happened again over the last week. Team Trump didn’t like the story about the former president exploiting one of the nation’s most sacred spaces, so they rewrote it, indifferent to reality and shame.

As the story enters its second week, there’s no shortage of relevant developments:

• On Labor Day, Harris addressed the matter directly for the first time, accusing Trump in a social-media message of “disrespect[ing] sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt.” The Democratic nominee went on to say, “If there is one thing on which we as Americans can all agree, it is that our veterans, military families, and service members should be honored, never disparaged, and treated with nothing less than our highest respect and gratitude.”
• At public events late last week, Trump talked about the controversy in ways that didn’t make a lot of sense.
• Fox News responded to the story by accusing President Joe Biden of “skipping” an “event” at Arlington last week. In reality, there was no special event.
• VoteVets released a striking new ad in response to the scandal.
• Last week, officials from the Trump campaign suggested they would soon release footage that would exonerate the former president and his aides. To date, that has not happened.

Where will the controversy go next? Time will tell, but a growing number of congressional Democrats, including Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, are pursuing the matter and seeking additional information and details about what transpired. Watch this space.