Trump Jr. says Arlington Cemetery reminded him of his family's "sacrifices"
Donald Trump Jr. Photo: Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Donald Trump Jr. wrote that visiting the Arlington National Cemetery in 2017 made him think of his family's "sacrifices" in his new book, "Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us."
What he's saying: The historic cemetery, which memorializes hundreds of thousands of American troops, veterans and their families, reminded Trump Jr. "of all the attacks we’d already suffered as a family, and about all the sacrifices we’d have to make to help my father succeed."
- Among those sacrifices was "voluntarily giving up a huge chunk of our business and all international deals to avoid the appearance that we were 'profiting off the office.'"
What they're saying, per the Washington Post: Trump Jr.'s "framing of the Arlington Cemetery anecdote, in particular, has provoked fervent criticism and accusations of callousness."
- "Eight men I served with are buried in Section 60 of Arlington. I visit them monthly," tweeted Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who served in the Iraq War. "Even if Donald JR. lived a 1,000 years he will never even get close to being as good and honorable as they were. Sacrifice is only a word to the Trumps."
The full passage from the book:
"Meanwhile, it also took two months for me to realize the enormity of what my father had accomplished, and the weight of the job that he’d won. It was the day before the inauguration, and we were driving into Arlington National Cemetery, where he was to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I rarely get emotional, if ever. I guess you’d call me hyper-rational, stoic. Yet, as we drove past the rows of white grave markers, in the gravity of the moment, I had a deep sense of the importance of the presidency and a love of our country. I was never prouder of my father than when I watched as he stood before the tomb, his hand over his heart, while the Army bugler played 'Taps.'
"In that moment, I also thought of all the attacks we’d already suffered as a family, and about all the sacrifices we’d have to make to help my father succeed—voluntarily giving up a huge chunk of our business and all international deals to avoid the appearance that we were 'profiting off the office.'"
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