Jimmy McCain, a son of the Vietnam War P.O.W. and longtime Republican senator John McCain, said Tuesday that the campaign of former President Donald J. Trump had committed a “violation of a sacred place” when it clashed with an official at Arlington National Cemetery.
Mr. McCain, a first lieutenant in the Arizona National Guard, told The New York Times that he was “very shocked” by the confrontation at the cemetery last week, saying it could be an “extremely triggering” event for the families of soldiers buried there.
“Arlington National Cemetery is a very sacred place for not only veterans, but for their families,” Mr. McCain said. He added, “It’s very hallowed, sacred ground, and it should be left that way.”
The altercation occurred during an visit by Mr. Trump for a wreath-laying ceremony honoring 13 U.S. troops killed in the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Federal law prohibits taking photographs or filming for political purposes in that part of the cemetery, and the Army’s public affairs office defended a cemetery official who it said was pushed by a member of Mr. Trump’s staff after trying to prevent the campaign from filming in the restricted area.
A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement that there “has been no greater advocate for our brave military men and women than President Trump.” She added that Mr. Trump had avoided starting wars and putting “our troops in harm’s way.”
Mr. McCain, who also criticized the Trump campaign’s actions in an interview with CNN published earlier Tuesday, told The Times that he planned to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. He also said that he joined the Democratic Party about a month ago, after returning from a period of service in Jordan. “You have a lot of time to think overseas,” he said.
Mr. McCain, 36, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2006 and served in the Iraq war. He later served in Afghanistan as a member of the Oregon National Guard, he said. Although he is a member of the Arizona National Guard, Mr. McCain said, “I don’t represent them in any way with my views.” The Arizona National Guard said in statement that it does not comment on political matters.
Mr. McCain’s decision to speak out about the altercation and his joining the Democratic Party was the perhaps the most dramatic example of a member of the McCain family turning away from the Republican Party, which his father represented as presidential nominee for in 2008 and as longtime senator from Arizona. He died in 2018, and his body lay instate in the Capitol Rotunda before his burial at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. His father and grandfather, both admirals, are buried at Arlington.
Jimmy McCain said he was trying to follow his father’s legacy of “speaking your mind and standing up for what you believe in.”
The cemetery has been politicized by others before — Senator McCain himself once called an ad his campaign ran that included video of him at Arlington “a very bad mistake” — but the episode involving Mr. Trump touched off significant criticism.
Corey Lewandowski, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, had posted photos of Mr. Trump’s visit to the restricted area of the cemetery, including one where the former president flashed a “thumbs up” pose. The Army said the participants in the visit had been informed of the prohibition against political activities, and that an employee who attempted to ensure compliance with the rules was “abruptly pushed aside.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump wrote on social media that “there was no conflict” at the cemetery, calling the incident a “made up story,” even though his campaign had previously acknowledged the confrontation and described the cemetery employee as “suffering from a mental health episode.”
Mr. Trump disparaged Senator McCain on multiple occasions, including saying he was “not a war hero” despite being shot down over Hanoi during the Vietnam War and held as a prisoner for five and a half years. “I like people who weren’t captured,” Mr. Trump declared.
The senator’s widow, Cindy McCain, endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr. over Mr. Trump in the 2020 presidential election, citing Mr. Biden’s “character and integrity.”
And Meghan McCain, the couple’s eldest daughter and a self-described conservative, effusively praised the Democratic National Convention last month, writing on social media that perhaps Republicans should “just forfeit because I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU CAN COMPETE WITH THIS.”
Still, Mr. McCain is the first member of the family known to have joined the Democratic Party.
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