Family Expresses Concern Over Trump Campaign Video at Arlington Cemetery: ‘This is a Restricted Area’

A New York Times reporter appeared on CNN Wednesday night to discuss her recent reporting on the controversy surrounding a video filmed by former President Donald Trump’s campaign at Arlington National Cemetery. The family of a Green Beret buried there expressed concern that Trump’s campaign filmed at his gravesite without permission, in an area where campaign photos and videos are banned.

The video, posted on Trump’s TikTok account, shows him smiling and giving a thumbs-up as he criticizes the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano, who died by suicide in 2020, is buried in Section 60 of Arlington Cemetery, a section reserved for those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Marckesano’s family told The New York Times that his gravesite appeared in the background of the video with Trump. While another family welcomed Trump’s presence at the cemetery, Marckesano’s family did not. Additionally, Arlington Cemetery prohibits photos and videos taken for campaign purposes.

“The Marckesano family was not contacted or asked for this, but his gravestone is now in that TikTok video from behind,” Times reporter Maggie Haberman explained on CNN. She noted that the front of the gravestone, bearing Marckesano’s name, is visible in photos posted online featuring Trump giving a thumbs-up.

Haberman emphasized the family’s sentiments, saying, “They were very clear, the family, in a statement to us, that they really support this other family and other families that lost people in the Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul in Afghanistan, but that this is a restricted area and that they would hope that everyone would be respectful of that. It was a restrained statement but it was very clearly displeased.”

When asked about the TikTok video, the Trump campaign declined to “directly address” the concerns raised by the Marckesano family. Instead, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told The New York Times in a statement that “the campaign will continue to respect the wishes of the Gold Star family members who invited President Trump.”

Haberman pointed out that Gold Star families are not a “monolith” and hold a variety of political opinions. The “broader issue,” she said, is whether Trump violated federal law by filming in a restricted area. “So far the Trump campaign has yet to provide documentation of its claim that it was permitted to do this and that there was an agreement,” Haberman noted. The incident has sparked debate over the appropriateness and legality of the campaign’s actions at the solemn site.