Ex-Trump official has advice for Trump after Arlington incident
Ex-Trump official has advice for Trump after Arlington incident
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00I'm joined tonight by the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander, retired Army Captain
00:04Al Lippard. Captain, I just want to say first, thank you for your service and thank you for
00:09joining us on this. Obviously, Donald Trump had every right to be at the cemetery with the Gold
00:14Star families who wanted him there. But in your view, do you think it's appropriate to use an
00:20event like that one for political purposes or do you think it crosses a line? Well,
00:29the Veterans of Foreign Wars has been in existence for 125 years and our 1.4 million
00:39members, I can assure you, would be against anyone that tried to politicize,
00:49especially on that hallowed ground. But the fact that that family or those families
00:56had invited Mr. Trump to be there to show their respect for the last full measure of devotion
01:05that those individuals gave and to allow him to photograph it or have it photographed,
01:13that's a prerogative that they had. And again, I would not presume to know the law that
01:23is on the books about holding a political event on the National Cemetery. But I know that
01:36the Veterans of Foreign Wars, when we were founded, the purpose is fraternal,
01:41patriotic, historical, charitable, and educational. And we respect and honor those that have
01:52paid the ultimate price. Everybody that serves in uniform is due respect.
01:58But those who have deployed, well, that's what we're for. I really can't. You'd have to take
02:11that up with the families on allowing that to be done because I don't know what the law is.
02:16Well, yeah. And I looked into this earlier because I was curious. I've been to Arlington
02:20many times. I used to live in Washington and would go there periodically. It's essentially
02:25saying, not even blatant political activities, it's just even the impression of it given, of
02:31course, you can't presume the politics or anything of any of those people and those who gave their
02:38lives. I just want to ask though, the Army is saying one thing, Trump is saying another. You
02:44served in the Army from 1965 to 1979. Would you believe that anything they have said would be
02:52dishonest or not exactly what happened? I live in the same country as you, Caitlin,
03:01and I'm around the same people as you. And when I hear something, I hear it. If I didn't see it,
03:14I don't know. I can't believe everything that I hear. That's my way of saying that,
03:23yeah, I think there are people that will say anything. You know, this is just a shame that
03:30this happened to be the election season. I mean, for a former president, and there have been a
03:42number. I know that President Obama and President Clinton, as well as a number of others,
03:47have burned to the National Cemetery and done what Mr. Trump did, and that was to honor those
03:59that gave the ultimate sacrifice. But now, you know, to say that he went beyond that,
04:09I can't say. I didn't see it. The Army says it. I wasn't there.
04:16Yeah, they're saying a campaign staffer pushed someone aside. And I should note,
04:20your group is apolitical, and you're joining us here tonight. You know, after Trump said that
04:26the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is for civilians, was much better to get than the Medal
04:31of Honor, obviously, which is for our military people who often give their lives in their
04:37service here. You said those remarks were, quote, asinine. It was a remarkable moment,
04:44because, you know, you're not a group that often speaks out in moments like that. As I said,
04:48you're apolitical. Do you stand by those comments? Absolutely. But they were not directed at Mr.
04:55Trump. Those comments were anybody that would say that the Presidential Medal of Freedom
05:03is comparable or actually more prestigious than the Medal of Honor, that's an asinine statement.
05:14And when you look in the dictionary to find the definition of asinine, it says extraordinarily
05:22stupid. And that is an extraordinarily stupid remark for anybody to make that those who have
05:31gone above and beyond the call of duty to sacrifice their life so others can live,
05:38to say that it is not, it should not be held in higher esteem than the Presidential
05:46Medal of Freedom is ludicrous. You know, the Presidential Medal of Freedom only takes one
05:52person to nominate you. That would be the president. The Medal of Honor is not awarded
05:59by the president. It is presented by the president. The Medal of Honor is a congressional
06:06medal. That is the people of the United States. The people of the United States is who awards
06:15or approves that medal for those individuals. And what a, yeah, again, it's just not,
06:26but unfortunately, you know, some people, again, it's an election season. If people read into it,
06:35I don't take back my remark. It was an asinine thing to say, but it was not.
06:46He just happened to be the one that was there when he said it. And that's what the veterans
06:53of foreign wars is for. I mean, we take care of veterans. We want to make sure that the promises
06:59were made are the promises that are kept. And we appreciate that so much. And your service,
07:05Captain Al Lippert, thank you for joining tonight. Well, Kaylin, thank you again. I'm humbled to be
07:13here. Thank you very much. We're humbled, humbled to have you. Thank you very much.
07:17And Alyssa Fairgriffin is back here with me. And obviously, the captain, he does not represent a
07:23political group. I mean, his comments about what Trump had said about that were remarkable. And
07:27it's also just the broader pattern of what this all fits in. What happened at Arlington Cemetery,
07:32the fact that they are in this argument with the staffer, the comments that he described as asinine
07:37about the medal of freedom and the medal of honor. And it's kind of twofold. Donald Trump's just
07:42never understood service and sacrifice as it applies to the U.S. military. He himself
07:47didn't serve. He didn't try to learn it as he did as he was in office, you know,
07:52asking questions about salaries that people made in the military or wondering why they'd go into
07:56service. And the other is when you make a mistake, just own it. I did a bunch of visits to Arlington
08:02National Cemetery with Vice President Pence. There's protocols, there's processes, especially
08:06in Section 60, you don't do photography. But if you made that mistake, which is Iraq and Afghanistan,
08:12the war dead are buried and still have family members. And by the way, when you go, you will
08:17almost always see somebody mourning someone at a gravesite. It's an incredibly quiet, intimate
08:22place. And if those families asked for it and he took the picture, I don't know why he's smiling
08:27and thumbs upping, then just own it. And don't let this be a weeks long story that really continues
08:32to fuel this fire, that you don't respect those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.
08:37But that's classic Trumpism. You just have to double down. You can't admit fault. And the way
08:42that his staff has handled it is almost worse than the offense itself in some ways.
08:45Yes. Saying the staffer was having a mental breakdown.
08:47A mental breakdown. And by the way, all of this-
08:49Mental health episode.
08:50Yes. And distracting from something very important, which there should be more scrutiny over the
08:55withdrawal from Afghanistan. That is an incredibly legitimate point for Donald Trump to highlight.
08:59That's not what's being talked about. It's him not properly handling himself in a very,
09:05very sacred American spot.