Trump honors fallen soldiers of Abbey Gate

Former president Donald Trump made a surprise appearance at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to lay a wreath and pay his respects to the thirteen American service members who were killed during a suicide bombing amid the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. It is the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack, which was a tragic source of national embarrassment as America left the twenty-year long war and has been a continuous political thorn in the side of President Joe Biden. While Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both released statements recognizing the fallen service members, Biden is…

Former president Donald Trump made a surprise appearance at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to lay a wreath and pay his respects to the thirteen American service members who were killed during a suicide bombing amid the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. It is the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack, which was a tragic source of national embarrassment as America left the twenty-year long war and has been a continuous political thorn in the side of President Joe Biden. While Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both released statements recognizing the fallen service members, Biden is currently at the beach (in fact, he is on vacation all week long) and Harris has no public events on her schedule.

The Gold Star family members of the thirteen deceased service members have accused Biden of disrespecting them and the memory of their loved ones ever since he checked his watch multiple times during the dignified transfer of their bodies at Dover Air Force Base. They also bristled at Biden choosing to talk about the car accident that killed several members of his family and the death of his son Beau, who served in Iraq but died years later from brain cancer, rather than focusing in on their grief. Biden has not publicly named the thirteen who were killed at Abbey Gate. Harris says she was the “last person in the room” when the decision was made to pull out of Afghanistan.

These families have instead been embraced by the Republican Party. They attended Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address with the House Armed Services committee and appeared at the Republican National Committee to tell their stories. Trump has also promised to get the resignations of every military official who helped draw up the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal in August of 2021 and has criticized the decision to abandon Bagram Air Base and leave behind billions of dollars in equipment.

“Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names. He knew their stories,” Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of one of the Marines who was killed, said at the RNC. “Donald Trump carried the weight for a few hours with me.”

After visiting Arlington National Cemetery, Trump stopped by Truong Tien Vietnamese Restaurant at the Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia. Harris has not held an unscripted campaign event or sat down for a media interview in the time since she was endorsed by Biden to be the Democratic nominee.

-Amber Duke

On our radar

TULSI TIME Former Hawaii congresswoman — and former Democratic candidate for president — Tulsi Gabbard officially endorsed Donald Trump for president on Monday. “If you love our country, as I do, if you cherish peace and freedom as we do, I invite you to join me in doing all that we can to save our country and elect President Donald J. Trump,” Gabbard said.

HOME FOR SALE California Democrats are poised to advance legislation to offer illegal immigrants up to $150,000 in state-supported down payment assistance on new home purchases. Democrats have justified the proposal by limiting it to illegal immigrants who are paying taxes; Governor Gavin Newsom has not said if he will sign the bill.

‘TRUMP CAN WIN ON CHARACTER’ An opinion essay by Rich Lowry in the New York Times argues that Trump should make the election not just about policy but also about character, noting, “Everything has to be connected to the deeper case that Ms. Harris is weak, a phony, and doesn’t truly care about the country or the middle class.”

NO SPEECH ZONE Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris this weekend over allegations that his messaging platform was being used to launder money and traffic drugs. Telegram responded to the arrest in a statement, saying, “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

Mic check, one-two, one-two…

It’s not who you debate, it’s how you debate: that appears to be the message out of the Harris camp this morning. According to a scoop from Politico’s Kamala whisperer Eugene Daniels, Team Harris is looking to change a rule for ABC’s September 10 debate that had previously been agreed between the Biden and Trump campaigns: that the first candidate’s mic would be muted while the second spoke, and vice versa.

“We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” Brian Fallon, senior comms advisor for the Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications, told Politico. “Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for ninety minutes on his own.”

The reason behind the change in tack seems obvious: Harris’s most successful debate moment thus far, the “I’m speaking” retort to Mike Pence in the 2020 VP debate. Kamala fans could be spotted wearing T-shirts bearing that quote at last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Whereas the Biden campaign were looking to rein in Trump to stop him from sucking up air-time from an aged candidate not as able to fight for it, the Kamala kampaign is all too happy to let Trump come across as ill disciplined and raving, in contrast to their shiny, new “joyful” nominee.

Trump had attempted to secure more debates than the ABC event in Philadelphia in fifteen days’ time: he had advocated for one before then on Fox News, a network friendlier to him, and one after on NBC or MSNBC. The Harris campaign never agreed to either. The Republican nominee also inferred that he might not attend the sole debate he is currently committed to yesterday. “I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning,” he wrote on Truth Social, “and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” The former president made reference to “Kamala’s best friend, who heads up ABC,” a reference to top executive Dana Walden. My colleague Amber Duke reported on Walden and Harris’s close ties almost a month ago.

–Matt McDonald

RFK Jr. versus the Kennedys

When independent presidential candidate RFK Jr. announced he would be dropping out of the presidential race in swing states and endorsing Donald Trump on Friday, he ruffled many feathers – including those of his own family. Five of them issued a statement calling the move a “betrayal of the values that our father and family hold most dear.”

“We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future,” Kerry Kennedy, who leads the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Organization, wrote in a statement alongside four of Kennedy’s siblings. “We believe in Harris and Walz.”

“It’s a sad ending to a sad story,” she added.

The statement, shared on X, was also signed by Kathleen Kennedy, Courtney Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy.

“Never been less surprised in my life. Been saying it for over a year — RFK jr. is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it,” John F. Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg, who recently spoke at the DNC in Chicago, wrote on X.

Kennedy responded that his family members are free to disagree with his decision.

The Kennedy family, being one of the nation’s most prominent political dynasties, has long ties with the Democratic Party. Several Kennedy family members publicly backed President Biden in April and expressed their support for the Harris campaign since he stepped aside. The family also regularly dismissed RFK Jr.’s independent candidacy and his views on vaccines and Covid-19.

In his address in Arizona on Friday following the decision, Kennedy denounced the Democrats’ “continual legal warfare” against him and Trump, accusing the media of engaging in a conspiracy with Democrats to hinder his campaign and “not giving him a fair shake.” He thanked his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, for respecting his decision, which he noted was “very uncomfortable” for her.

“I deeply respect the decision Bobby made to run on the principle of unity,” she said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. “It’s been my experience that the vast majority of all parties are truly good people who want the best for our country and for each other,” Hines added. Her comments come as some have demanded she publicly denounce her husband, including West Wing star Bradley Whitford.

“Hey @CherylHines, way to stay silent while your lunatic husband throws his support behind the adjudicated rapist who brags about stripping women of their fundamental rights,” he wrote on X.

Kennedy has framed his decision to endorse Trump as one based on working with a candidate who is closest to him on the issues, even if they may disagree on some. “I think we all need to be able to disagree with each other and still love each other,” he concluded.

–Elisenne Stoller