One of the parents of the 13 fallen United States service members who were killed during the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan dismissed claims that there had been an altercation between Trump campaign officials and a cemetery worker at Arlington National Cemetery.
During an interview with host Matthew Boyle on the War Room podcast, Steve Nikoui, the father of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui; Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee; and Jim McCollum, the father of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum spoke about the criticism former President Donald Trump has received in the aftermath of his visit to Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 13 fallen service members whose lives were taken on August 26, 2021 in Afghanistan.
Nikoui, McCollum, and Shamblin spoke about Vice President Kamala Harris issuing a statement attacking former President Donald Trump for his visit to Arlington National Cemetery, and how NPR released an article alleging that officials from the Trump campaign had been involved in a “verbal and physical altercation” at the cemetery.
In response to NPR’s article, claiming that Trump campaign officials had gotten into an altercation with a cemetery official who had allegedly tried to prevent Trump campaign staff from entering Section 60 of the cemetery and from taking photos and filming, Nikoui explained that the families had “extensively asked everyone on the Trump campaign” about the alleged altercation.
Nikoui added that he was “questioning whether it even happened.”
“To be honest with you, we’ve extensively asked everyone on the Trump campaign, and Christy was there, this altercation was not seen by anyone, and I’m questioning whether it even happened,” Nikoui said.
When asked what his “reaction” was to Harris criticizing Trump for attending the ceremony and labeling it a “political stunt,” Nikoui stated that while he was “shocked,” he was not shocked to a “great extent,” and added that Harris was the one “playing politics.”
“Just like Christy, I was shocked, but not to a great extent,” Nikoui said. “The one that’s claiming we’re playing politics, or that he’s playing politics, it’s actually her that’s playing politics. For her to call this out and to – on a solemn day when we did a remembrance, finally, their last anniversary in this administration and they can’t even do the right thing.”
In response to Harris’s statement, Trump released videos from Nikoui, Shamblin, McCollum, Darin Hoover, the father of Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover; Coral Doolittle, the mother of Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez; Jaclyn and Mark Schmitz, the mother and father of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz; and Herman Lopez, the father of Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, in which they criticized Harris for her statement and praised Trump for having treated them with “the utmost respect, compassion, and understanding.”