Former President Donald Trump attended a wreath laying at Arlington National Cemetery and made a campaign stop in Falls Church earlier today (Monday).
Trump visited the cemetery to mark the three-year anniversary of a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members. He then made an appearance at Truong Tien Restaurant at the Eden Center, alongside Vietnamese-American U.S. Senate candidate Hung Cao (R).
Trump visits Truong Tien Vietnamese Restaurant at the Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia pic.twitter.com/BQOzCG2oNm
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) August 26, 2024
At the cemetery, the Republican presidential nominee lay wreaths in honor of three service members killed in the attack outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021: Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, the Associated Press reported.
@realDonaldTrump speaks via phone to the family of SSG Ryan Knauss who couldn’t make it today, as he lays flowers at their boys grave … pic.twitter.com/QNUELSPJKA
— Chris LaCivita (@ChrisLaCivita) August 26, 2024
In a post on Truth Social this morning, Trump criticized the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling it “the most EMBARRASSING moment in the history of our country.”
“Gross Incompetence – 13 DEAD American soldiers, hundreds of people wounded and dead, AMERICANS and BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND,” he wrote. “You don’t take our soldiers out first, you take them out LAST, when all else is successfully done.”
Later, at Truong Tien — a restaurant in a Falls Church shopping center that is a haven for businesses owned by Vietnamese immigrants — Trump fielded questions about Democratic opponent Kamala Harris and their upcoming ABC debate.
Following the surprise visit to the Eden Center, Trump’s motorcade was seen arriving at Reagan National Airport. Amid the former president’s stops in Northern Virginia, multiple readers reported helicopters flying overhead, increased police activity, and closures along I-66.
After his visit to @ArlingtonNatl and to the Eden Center, Trump’s motorcade arrived at Reagan National Airport minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/bHh99ngA5p
— Henry Bright (@HCBright10) August 26, 2024
The former president will reportedly visit Michigan next to address the National Guard Association, before hosting rallies in key battleground states Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
