The Morning: Where's the Arlington National Cemetery video?

Earlier this week when NPR first reported that there had been an incident between members of Donald Trump’s campaign and an employee at Arlington National Cemetery during a visit there by the former president, the campaign insisted it had conclusive video evidence that no physical altercation had occurred.

“We are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” promised Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.

Well…..

On Thursday, the U.S. Army released a highly unusual statement — making clear that the ANC employee had, in fact, been shoved aside by a Trump campaign official.

“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” read the statement. “An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside.”

As NPR media writer David Folkenflik noted this morning on X:

Seriously. The Trump campaign said it would release video that would exonerate staffers if people kept reporting that they had berated and shoved an Arlington National Cemetery official who sought to prevent what she said were violations of the law. It still hasn’t.

And they never will! Because, my guess is, the video (if it exists) does not exonerate the Trump staffers. Pushing someone out of the way who says they can’t do something is entirely in keeping with how Trump approaches the world. He believes he operates under his own rules (which barely exist). And that he is always right — no matter what.

Will the ANC episode change many votes? Probably not. But it’s totally indicative of how Trump and his campaign operate. And will operate if he gets back into the White House.

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