Former President Donald Trump commemorated the third anniversary of a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 U.S. service members during chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan with wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery. 

The ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier involved retired Marine Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart and Marine Corps Sergeant (Retired) Tyler Vargas-Andrews, both wounded in the bombing.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris issued statements recognizing the date as a somber anniversary, but neither were at the ceremony. Trump was there though, joined by the Gold Star families of our lost.

After the ceremony, Trump took criticism from some home Democrats and journalists that he had politicized it. Many of the families who had invited Trump to attend pushed back, despite some criticism over his appearance and scolding from the Biden-Harris administration for their chaotic withdrawal that resulted in their loved ones’ deaths. Six days after that the media was still arguing over it, this time about Trump instead of just leaving a family to grieve.

Asked about it in an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week” with host Jonathan Karl about the controversy, Karl said in addition to a statement from the U.S. Army that suggested that the objective for his visit met criteria for “political activities.”

“Is a line crossed here in terms of the campaign?” Karl asked.

Graham responded, “I’m fine with that view — but you know what’s really sad about this? Because b/c the Biden admin would be so incompetent — those families had to go and visit their fallen loved ones at Arlington.”

On CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) answered similar questions, telling Face the Nation host John Dickerson that it was important for Trump to be at Arlington where they are remembering those who were lost. 

On “Meet the Press,” Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) also addressed criticism of Trump’s statement. 

As for what Trump did, he said: “He didn’t take campaign photos there. These families — Gold Star families — whose children died due to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s incompetence, invited him to the cemetery, and they asked him to take those photos,” Cotton said, adding that Trump was not the only person who the families had asked to attend.

“You know who those families also invited? Joe Biden and Kamala Harris — where were they?” Cotton asked. “Joe Biden was sitting at a beach. Kamala Harris was sitting at her mansion in Washington, DC. She was four miles away — ten minutes. She could’ve gone to the cemetery and honor the sacrifice of those young men and women, but she hasn’t. She never has spoken to them or taken a meeting with them. It is because of her and Joe Biden’s incompetence that those 13 Americans were killed in Afghanistan.”