John McCain’s son speaks out against Trump using Arlington visit for political purposes
Sep 4, 2024, 4:45 AM | Updated: 11:26 am
PHOENIX – Former President Donald Trump’s visit to the Arlington National Cemetery has received criticism after he used photos and videos from the day for political purposes. Adding to the criticism was Jim McCain, the son of former U.S. Sen. John McCain.
What was originally a wreath-laying ceremony to honor 13 U.S. soldiers killed in the withdrawal of Afghanistan turned into controversy after Trump’s campaign violated federal law by taking photos and videos for political activities in a part of the cemetery. An Arlington National Cemetery employee attempted to stop the Trump campaign but was pushed aside.
Jim McCain, a member of the Arizona National Guard, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos on Tuesday that three generations of his family members are at the cemetery, expressing the respect needed for such a sacred place.
“Arlington National Cemetery is the most sacred place for veterans, for people who have served, for the family members of those who have served,” McCain said. “There’s rules … and one of them is it shouldn’t be used for any form of political purposes.”
Since the incident, Trump has said that he only took photos at the request of the Gold Star families who invited him to the ceremony. The Trump campaign released a statement from the Gold Star families defending his visit.
McCain doesn’t place any blame on the families, saying it’s their choice if they want to take a photo with the former president and their loved ones.
“What’s wrong is that any form of it being politicized and being used to the campaign,” McCain said.
He added that the soldiers buried at the cemetery don’t have political opinions and don’t have a choice on whether they would want to participate.
McCain’s own father ran into similar controversy for using footage from the cemetery in a campaign ad. In 1999, a television ad for McCain’s presidential campaign displayed him walking through the cemetery grounds. Following the Army’s statements that his campaign violated the law and never asked for permission to film at the cemetery, McCain cut the clip from the ad and apologized.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday, McCain said his dad did the right thing by cutting the spot because he understood the sanctified nature of the national cemetery. McCain said the right thing to do is for Trump to pull his ads using the footage and to apologize but felt Trump’s previous history with veterans showed that was unlikely.
McCain recently revealed he was changing his voter registration to Democrat after being an Independent.
“I think one of the main points of switching over and coming over has been that I feel that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz embody a group of people who will help make this country better, that will take us forward and that’s really what matters at the end of the day,” McCain said in the CNN interview.
