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Trump campaign involved in incident on grounds of Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery said an “incident” took place on Monday when former President Donald Trump visited the cemetery with Gold Star families whose family members died during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Officials at the cemetery confirmed in a statement that there was an “incident” and a report was subsequently filed after Trump, along with members of his campaign, visited the cemetery.
Trump participated in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to mark three years since the suicide bombing in Kabul that killed 13 service members during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. He also visited Section 60, where veterans of the post-9/11 conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are laid to rest.
The Trump campaign said that they were explicitly granted permission to bring “campaign designated media” to Section 60 of the cemetery by the Gold Star families. Messages reviewed by CBS News confirmed that the campaign was given expressed permission by the families.
The rules at Army National Military Cemeteries are dictated by federal law, according to Arlington National Cemetery media policies, even if there are requests by family members of the fallen.
It was at Section 60 that an interaction took place between Trump campaign staffers and a cemetery official, according to multiple sources.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
The cemetery said in a statement that “federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign.”
The cemetery said it “reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants.”
NPR reported that two members of the Trump campaign had a verbal and physical altercation with an official at the cemetery.
Defense officials told CBS News that some staff with the Trump campaign were unprofessional and were aggressive both verbally and physically toward the cemetery official.
“There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to CBS News. “The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”
The campaign also sent CBS News a statement from Cheryl Juels, the aunt of Nicole Gee, one of the Marines killed by the ISIS-K suicide attacker, thanking Trump for his appearance. “We absolutely welcomed and appreciated having video and photography there with us,” the statement read in part.
When asked by CBS News to clarify whether the incident was a physical altercation, Arlington National Cemetery said it is not releasing more information to protect the identity of the individual involved.
Trump has in the past been criticized for demeaning service in the military, including disparaging comments calling service members who have been captured or killed “suckers and losers.” The Trump campaign has denied he ever made those comments, but current and former U.S. military service members have detailed multiple instances of Trump using that language.
This week the campaign has held events reaching out to members of the military and their families with the visit to Arlington National Cemetery and a speech speaking directly to service members at the National Guard Association of the United States conference in Detroit on Monday.
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
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