Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican and Donald Trump ally, responded on Sunday to a Gold Star family’s concerns about photographs of the former president’s recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery.
Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, was invited to Arlington—the resting place of over 400,000 U.S. service members, veterans and their families—for a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday to honor the 13 service members killed during the Afghanistan War withdrawal in 2021. His invitation was given by some of the families of the deceased service members.
During his visit, Trump took photos with the family of Staff Sergeant Darin Taylor Hoover—one of the service members killed in the 2021 suicide bombing at Abbey Gate outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan—at his gravesite. While the Hoover family reportedly gave the Trump team permission to film and take photographs at the gravesite, the family of the late Master Sergeant Andrew Marckesano, whose grave is next to Hoover’s and was shown in photos from Trump’s visit that were posted online, did not.
Marckesano’s sister, Michele, told The New York Times on Wednesday, “We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected accordingly.”
While on NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday, Cotton was confronted with Michele’s quote by host Kristen Welker. “Did the Trump campaign fail to honor her wishes, their wishes?” Welker asked the senator.
“No, Kristen. They honored the wishes of the 13 families whose children died at Abbey Gate,” Cotton said. “Those families wanted the photos. They told me yesterday that they specifically asked [former] President Trump for the photos. Obviously, headstones at Arlington are close to each other.”
Welker then interjected: “What about that family? What about the Marckesanos?”
“When you take a photo of your loved one then other headstones are gonna be present as well,” Cotton said. “Frankly, I think it’s very disappointing that The New York Times went and found a family whose headstone was featured in that photograph of another Gold Star family and then went to them to try to embarrass the Gold Star families who wanted [former] President Trump there.”
Newsweek has reached out to Cotton’s office and Trump’s campaign via email for comment on Sunday afternoon.
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Meanwhile, there were reports of an altercation during Trump’s visit between his staff and a cemetery official who tried to stop them from filming and photographing Section 60—the burial site for service members killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Amid these reports, a U.S. Army spokesperson said on Thursday that participants in the wreath-laying ceremony and the subsequent visit to Section 60 “were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DOD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds” and that an Arlington employee “who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside.”
The spokesperson added that it was “unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.” A police report was made, but the employee decided not to press charges.
The Trump campaign has denied receiving any warnings about taking photographs at the site and that a staffer pushed an Arlington official.
Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, previously told Newsweek that the former president “was there to support the Gold Star families and honor the sacrifices their loved ones made.”