Donald Trump is now claiming that his Arlington National Cemetery photo-op “was a setup by the people in the administration.”
“This was a setup by the people in the [Biden-Harris] administration that, oh, Trump is coming to Arlington, that looks so bad for us,” the Republican presidential candidate said in an interview with NBC News on Thursday night.
The Trump campaign has been under fire after it posted a TikTok on Wednesday of the former president posing for photos at grave sites, a violation of a federal law that prohibits the filming of partisan political advertisements at national cemeteries.
On Thursday, the U.S. Army said the Trump campaign was “made aware” that it was illegal to conduct political activity at Arlington National Cemetery, and said campaign staffers “abruptly pushed aside” and “unfairly attacked” a cemetery employee who attempted to stop them.
“On that hallowed grounds, should [you] have put out the images?” a reporter asked Trump in the NBC News interview.
Trump: “I don't know what the rules and regulations are. I don't know who did it. And it could have been them. It could have been the parents. It could have been somebody.”
Reporter: “It was your campaign's TikTok, though, that put out the video.”
Trump: “I really don't know anything about it. All I do is, I stood there and I said, if you'd like to have a picture, we can have a picture.”