"Politically brilliant" PR appearance Trump grins at soldier's grave - US veterans react indignantly
Jesse Watters praises how Donald Trump is "politically brilliant" in drawing attention from Harris' Democrats to the Republicans. If only the Fox News host wasn't mistaken.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Jesse Waters on Fox News praises Donald Trump for "politically brilliantly" shifting the momentum from the Democratic convention and the Harris nomination to the Republicans.
- Trump had achieved this through the support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) and an "emotional" visit to Arlington National Cemetery.
- But appearances are deceptive: RFK's wife is not enthusiastic - and the politician remains on the ballot in three important swing states.
- Trump's visit to Arlington has escalated into a scandal involving a criminal complaint, fierce criticism and banned recordings.
Of course Jesse Watters is allowed to criticize Kamala Harris. And as long as he doesn't use slippery language to give the impression that he sees the woman behind or even beneath the man, but instead puts forward factual arguments, that's fine.
On the Fox News show "The Five", the 46-year-old accuses the Democrat of supporting Joe Biden's coronavirus spending, which has fueled inflation in the USA. He criticizes the results Harris has achieved as "border czar" on migration.
And at the beginning of the week, he denied her foreign policy competencies, which ended in the unfortunate statement that US generals would "tamper" with her if she were elected. Of course that's not possible. And immediately after this segment, the presenter makes another comment that has not aged well to this day.
"Politically brilliant"
"Trump left [Arlington National Cemetery] today, and besides the emotional effect it had because the whole thing was so sad, it was politically brilliant," Watters says. "Harris and [Joe] Biden took the day off. [Trump] looked very presidential. And that and the RFK event on Friday completely took the momentum away from Harris and the party convention."
By the "RFK event", Watters is referring to Robert F. Kennedy's withdrawal from the race for the White House, which the Republicans actually staged to great media effect. The fact that the third candidate is now supporting Trump is not going down well everywhere: His wife's reaction is "the opposite of encouraging".
"She's been a Democrat her whole life," RFK tells TMZ, "and the idea of me endorsing Donald Trump is something she never dreamed of. Something she never wanted in her life." But this family difference is just one of several sticking points in the Trump-Kennedy team.
RFK cannot withdraw in important swing states
Even legally, things are not going as Trump and his new fan would like: After RFK initially invested millions to get on the ballot in all 50 states, he is now struggling to get himself removed from them again.
In three of the crucial swing states, of all places, the authorities are refusing to take this step: In North Carolina, Wisconsin and Michigan, Kennedy's name remains on the ballot, NPR reports. This is due to regulations and deadlines in the states, the report continues - and in view of the tight race, RFK's retention could possibly tip the scales.
And it's not just the Kennedy effect that is fizzling out: Donald Trump's visit to Arlington National Cemetery is not turning out to be a "brilliant" and "emotional" appearance, but is degenerating into a political disaster that is achieving the opposite of what it was intended to do.
What Trump wanted to achieve with the Arlington stunt
The 78-year-old visited the military cemetery on August 26 to lay a wreath for those soldiers who died during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The New Yorker probably had two ulterior motives: Firstly, he wants to blur the impression that he doesn't care about veterans.
On August 15, Trump said that the civilian Presidential Medal of Freedom was "much better" than the military Medal of Honor, whose recipients were "either in bad shape or dead". This not only outraged veterans.
On the other hand, Trump probably wants to set a counterpoint against Harris, who recently boasted that she was "the last person in the room" before Biden decided to withdraw from Afghanistan. But now criticism is already raining down again - from veterans, Arlington employees and, of course, politicians.
Thumbs up at the veterans' grave
Among other things, the veterans dislike the fact that the Republican can be photographed at the graves with his thumbs up and a broad grin.
"Trump only cares about the fallen when he can exploit their sacrifices for his own benefit. To him, they are just 'idiots and losers'," the organization VoteVets scoffs. Many citizens are also venting their anger on social media.
The fact that the "emotional moment" that Watters conjures up turns into a fiasco is entirely the fault of Trump's team: they walk with him into "Section 60" of the cemetery, where filming is prohibited. There they record a TikTok video with him for the election campaign.
"Pathetic" psycho: Trump team attacks employees
When an Arlington employee tries to intervene, a verbal altercation ensues, during which the man is pushed away, reports NPR. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung justifies the whole thing by saying that an "individual who obviously suffers from mental health issues" had disrupted Trump's "very solemn ceremony".
This "pathetic" person was a "disgrace" to the national cemetery, added Trump adviser Chris LaCivita. Arlington has since pressed charges, while the Trump camp claims it had permission to bring a photographer. However, the AP news agency writes that his team was explicitly warned not to take pictures there before the entourage reached Section 60.
Trump's vice president intervened in the affair yesterday, Wednesday: "With the confrontation at Arlington National Cemetery, the media is creating a story where I don't think there is one," said James David Vance at a campaign event in Erie, Pennsylvania. There is evidence that the photographer had permission for access. In addition, the families of the veterans had asked Trump to be there.
Survivors cannot lift the ban
But the criticism of Trump continues. "Donald Trump has no right to abuse our most sacred ground for his political purposes," said 22-year-old veteran Fred Wellman to USA Today.
"Many of us are angry." Instead of attacking the Arlington employee, Trump should apologize: The veterans' survivors could not lift the ban on political agitation at the cemetery.
"I truly can't think of anything more despicable than starting a political spectacle on land where the families [of fallen soldiers] are grieving," retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton rails in the newspaper. "Someone who does that should never be commander-in-chief."
Perhaps Jesse Watters is even right - namely that the attention has shifted from the Democrats to the Republicans thanks to RFK and Arlington. But that this was a "politically brilliant" move can probably be ruled out.