The U.S. army defended an Arlington National Cemetery employee who was pushed aside during a visit earlier this week by former U.S. president Donald Trump, saying that she acted professionally and was being unfairly attacked.

The military rarely comments on political matters. While its statement on Thursday did not explicitly mention Trump or his campaign, it made reference to a Monday ceremony.

On that day Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, visited the cemetery and took part in a wreath-laying ceremony honouring 13 service members killed during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

He also visited Section 60 of the cemetery, where troops are buried and which is considered hallowed ground by the military.

A post by Trump on TikTok — a social media platform he once tried to ban — shows images of him near tombstones in Section 60 at the cemetery, sometimes smiling and giving a thumbs-up with the family of at least one service member killed in Afghanistan.

Federal law and Pentagon policies do not allow political activities in that section of the cemetery, but videos were taken by Trump's campaign and used in advertisements.

"An ANC [Arlington National Cemetery] employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside," the army, which maintains the cemetery, said in its statement.

"This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked." 

During a speech in Michigan on Thursday, Trump said families of service members who died in Afghanistan had asked him to go to the cemetery and take photographs with them.

"They love me and I love them," Trump said.

Meanwhile, his campaign pushed back on any notion that the cemetery official had been unfairly targeted.

"This individual was the one who initiated physical contact and verbal harassment that was unwarranted and unnecessary," campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said Thursday. 

Cheung had said earlier the team had permission for a photographer and disparaged the cemetery official as having been "clearly suffering from a mental health episode."

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Trump's vice-presidential running mate J.D. Vance, at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, brushed off the criticism and echoed the claim that the campaign had gotten permission for a photographer.

Politicization concerns

Trump used the ceremony at Arlington to try to pin the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan on his Democratic rival for the White House, Kamala Harris.

It was the latest attempt by Trump and his campaign to raise doubts about Harris's fitness to serve as commander-in-chief as the election draws near and follows Harris having proclaimed herself last week ready to lead the nation's armed forces.

The U.S. military is meant to be apolitical, loyal to the U.S. Constitution and independent of any party or political movement.

But critics have accused Trump of using the military as prop and undermining Pentagon efforts to keep out of politics during his four years in office from 2017-21.

While in office, Trump intervened and restored the rank of a Navy SEAL convicted of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State detainee and threatened to use U.S. troops to put down protests around the country.

Since leaving office, Trump has berated some military officials.

The Arlington cemetery incident has revived fears among some officials and experts that Trump could use the military for political purposes if he wins a second term.

"We really did not want to get involved in this," said one military official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"But what happened [at Arlington] is not acceptable."

A number of veterans have criticized Trump, calling the move disrespectful.

"This is no way for a government official or political candidate to conduct themselves on the sacred ground of Section 60 at Arlington," retired U.S. navy admiral James Stavridis said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"The final resting place of so many heroic Americans — including some who died under my command — is not a political prop." 

One image on social media shows Trump and the family of Darin Taylor Hoover, a 31-year-old marine who was among the last 13 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan, smiling and giving a thumbs up over Hoover's tombstone.

Hoover's father, also Darin Hoover, said that a number of families had invited Trump to Arlington because he has been supportive of them.

Hoover said he was angered and frustrated by the outcry, including over the image of his son's gravesite.

"This was our time to spend with [our son], spend with the president.... If we didn't want to do it, we would not have done it," Hoover said.

The army has said that it considers the matter closed since the employee "decided not to press charges."

But Fred Wellman, a 22-year veteran who served in Iraq and who is supporting Harris for president, said the army should not have dropped the issue.

"Everyone who is a veteran who served since 9/11 is one to two degrees of separation from someone buried in Section 60," he said. "The army is the keeper of that place for us."

'Real people who sacrificed for our freedom'

Another tombstone visible in that picture with Trump and others is of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano, who died by suicide in 2020.

His family said they understood the Hoovers and other families looking for accountability for the troops killed in Afghanistan but — based on their conversation with Arlington National Cemetery — the Trump campaign did not follow the rules.

"We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honoured and respected accordingly," Michele Marckesano said in a statement. 

Whether the incident will sway veterans on election day is unclear.

In a report published in April, the Pew Research Center found that military veterans favour the Republican Party, with 63 per cent of respondents identifying with or leaning Republican.

A tumultuous election season has seen Trump survive an attempt on his life and also a change in the initially expected ballot-box match-up with the withdrawal of U.S. President Joe Biden from the Democratic presidential ticket.

Harris became the Democratic nominee following Biden's exit.