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When a member of Donald Trump’s entourage muscled past an Arlington National Cemetery employee so that the former president could exploit the backdrop of the gravestones of recently deceased soldiers for political purposes, it marked a new low when it comes to campaigns trying to weaponize grief. 

While it is fair to say that both Democrats and Republicans are exploiting the pain and suffering of regular Americans to score political points, the GOP is much more aggressive and shameless about it… even without Trump and his goons raising the bar when it comes to despicable campaign practices.

The third anniversary of the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate was always going to be a prime example of this, regardless of that altercation at Arlington.

The 2021 attack was a tragedy that cost the lives of 13 Americans (and approximately 170 Afghan civilians). It certainly was a stain on the Biden administration’s record. Sure, you can say that Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban had something to do with it, but the chaotic withdrawal of the remaining US troops from Afghanistan happened on Biden’s watch.

What is also tragic, however, is that Republicans are trying to take advantage of the attack, as well as the grief of the victims’ families, to score political points.

What people like Tiffany do not mention is that these were the only US soldiers who died in Afghanistan under Biden; in fact, on an annual basis, more American troops lost their lives under Trump (no matter how much the former president likes to lie about this).

It would be one thing to put out statements with the names and faces of the soldiers who were killed that day. That would be appropriate, especially if the same lawmakers also had done so the 63 times an American died in Afghanistan while Trump was president (as well as on the anniversaries of their deaths), or if they commemorated the thousands of other fatalities in the war on terror in the same way. 

Needless to say they have not.

Because, for Trump and his MAGA followers, this isn’t about honoring the memories of the fallen; it’s an opportunity for Republicans to take shots at Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Today marks the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate terrorist attack — the deadliest attack on Americans in Afghanistan since 2011 — when 13 brave service members tragically died as a direct result of Biden-Harris’ disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal,” the House GOP account tweeted.

Several Republicans officeholders noted that Harris said months before the attack that she was “comfortable” with the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. 

They make it sound as though the Biden administration somehow planned for these soldiers to lose their lives, when, in reality, the president made a tough decision on when and how to finally get out of the Afghanistan quagmire that unfortunately ended up having deadly consequences for these 13 individuals.

“Kamala Harris was the last person in the room during the Afghanistan withdrawal,” tweeted Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI). “She said she was ‘comfortable’ with her decision that led to 13 Americans dying 3 years ago. Never forget the 13 heroes who lost their lives and never forget who the last person in the room was.”

What people like Tiffany do not mention is that these were the only US soldiers who died in Afghanistan under Biden; in fact, on an annual basis, more American troops lost their lives under Trump (no matter how much the former president likes to lie about this).

Because, when politicians weaponize grief, the facts or nuances don’t matter.

And neither do the victims. 

And, of course, Democrats have their own gold star families. Who could forget the emotional speech of Khizr Khan, the father of a slain Army officer, who criticized Trump in 2016 for denigrating the contributions of US Muslims?

Republicans like to theatrically tell Democrats to “say their names,” whether it comes to the Abbey Gate fatalities, or to people murdered or raped by undocumented immigrants: another form of tragedy they like to exploit because it fits their narrative. 

It seems likely that most GOP officials could not match the names of these victims with their faces. Certainly Trump could not. 

And, in different circumstances, Republicans wouldn’t care about them at all. 

For example, if Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Espinoza had wanted to register to vote in his home state of Texas, it’s arguable they would feel differently about him in light of the GOP’s efforts to suppress Hispanic votes.

Or if Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee had gotten pregnant as a result of rape and decided to get an abortion. 

Or what if Navy Hospital Corpsman Maxton Soviak had wanted to join a pro-Palestine protest?

In other words, all of the victims of these tragedies are just pawns in a political chess game, which is how we ended up with a Trump staffer assaulting an Arlington National Cemetery employee so that the former president could take advantage of the grief of two gold star families to shoot footage for campaign commercials. 

Note that it’s not just Republicans who do this. 

To highlight the negative impact of GOP policies, Democrats also like to present focus attention on victims to elicit emotional responses… they are just less heavy-handed about it (in part because they don’t have a nonstop propaganda outlet like Fox News at their disposal).

For example, Hadley Duvall, a pro-choice activist who was sexually abused and impregnated by her stepfather, addressed the Democratic National Convention to criticize Trump’s abortion policies. 

Joining her was Kaitlyn Joshua, who talked about how she was denied care in Louisiana during a miscarriage because of the state’s abortion bans. 

And, of course, Democrats have their own gold star families. Who could forget the emotional speech of Khizr Khan, the father of a slain Army officer, who criticized Trump in 2016 for denigrating the contributions of US Muslims?

There is an important distinction, however. While all of the above (or their families) are victims of tragedies — terrorist attacks, crime, and oppressive laws — some are willingly telling their stories to bring about changed policies and attitudes… a far cry from the insensitive exploitation of tragedy that Trump’s behavior at Arlington represented. 

True, the families of two of those who died at Abbey Gate wanted the former president to be with them at Arlington. They were apparently fine with their dead family members being used as a prop. Maybe the deceased was a big MAGA supporter, maybe their parents are, or maybe they just hold Biden responsible and want to stick it to the Democrats. That is of course their right.

But Arlington National Cemetery holds the remains of some 400,000 veterans of American wars, going back to the Civil War; Section 60, where the recent confrontation took place, contains some 900 graves of servicepeople killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The rules governing the behavior of visitors to this site were drafted to ensure that the feelings of everyone who has a connection to those graves are respected. 

The failure of Trump’s entourage to display even a minimum of decorum in Section 60 speaks volumes about their attitude toward the nation’s fallen veterans – and to the hollowness of the GOP’s “say their names” ploy.

The cartoon above was created by DonkeyHotey for WhoWhatWhy from these images: Donald Trump caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED), grave (Arlington National Cemetery / Wikimedia – PD), Section 60 (Arlington National Cemetery / Wikimedia – PD), letters (Arlington National Cemetery / Flickr – PD), selfie (The White House / Flickr – PD).

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