Kamala Harris has accused Donald Trump of thinking only of “service to himself” after the former president’s campaign filmed at a military cemetery.
Mr Trump has already hit back with videos from relatives of fallen soldiers he honoured in a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday, the third anniversary of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
The row began when he visited Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, which is considered hallowed ground and where political activities are forbidden by law.
But Mr Trump’s campaign posted a TikTok video with footage from the cemetery, drawing criticism from some veterans and soldiers’ relatives.
“Let me be clear: the former president disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt,” Ms Harris wrote in a lengthy post on X.
“This is a man who is unable to comprehend anything other than service to himself.”
A cemetery employee was also pushed aside at Section 60 during an altercation with Mr Trump’s staff, with the US Army defending her as professional and unfairly attacked.
A statement said the employee at the Virginia cemetery was trying to make sure those participating in the ceremony were following the rules.
Mr Trump launched a concerted pushback on social media on Saturday night with videos of relatives of at least seven of the 13 killed in the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Many of them addressed Ms Harris directly, insisting they invited Mr Trump and disputed her stated support for military families.
“Let me be clear, there was no politics discussed, none whatsoever,” said Darin Hoover, father of Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover.
“Trump has been there for us from the very beginning.”
“Our kids were murdered because of your administration,” said Jaclyn Schmitz, the mother of Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz.
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Christy Shamblin, mother-in-law of Sergeant Nicole Gee, said: “Vice President Harris, why will you not express your condolences yourself?
“Why have we never heard from you?”
Mr Trump defended himself during a speech in Pennsylvania on Friday, saying the families had asked him to go to the cemetery.
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“I got there and we had a ceremony,” he said.
The families asked if he could come to the graves, he added, and then they sought a photo.
“I said, ‘absolutely’, so I was taking pictures at the grave.”
