President Trump made an unscheduled stop at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday to honor fallen veterans as families and volunteers placed wreaths on headstones.
Accompanied by uniformed soldiers, the president carried an umbrella amid the tombstones as he viewed wreaths laid by volunteers as part of “Wreaths Across America Day,” a national event in which volunteers adorn headstones of fallen veterans around the country with holiday wreaths.
Thousands of volunteers showed up despite the cold and rainy weather in Washington to lay wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery, a tradition that reportedly began in 1992 with wreath donations from one company and now involves thousands of local wreath-laying ceremonies across the country every year.{mosads}
Trump’s visit comes less than a month after he expressed regret for not visiting Arlington to mark Veterans’ Day. The Washington Post reported Trump’s visit lasted 15 minutes.
He also caught flak last month after skipping a visit to a military cemetery during a trip to France to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, which the White House said was canceled due to poor weather.
Trump made the public outing to Arlington on Saturday following an active morning on Twitter, where he announced the departure of his Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and took aim at shuttered conservative magazine The Weekly Standard over its closure this week at the hands of its billionaire owner, Philip Anschutz. The magazine had vocally criticized Trump.
“The pathetic and dishonest Weekly Standard, run by failed prognosticator Bill Kristol (who, like many others, never had a clue), is flat broke and out of business. Too bad,” Trump tweeted a few hours before the visit. “May it rest in peace!”
The president earlier in the morning announced Zinke’s departure while not saying whether he resigned or was fired. Trump said Zinke, a former Montana congressman, would depart at the end of the year and his successor would be named next week.
“Secretary of the Interior @RyanZinke will be leaving the Administration at the end of the year after having served for a period of almost two years. Ryan has accomplished much during his tenure and I want to thank him for his service to our Nation,” Trump wrote. “The Trump Administration will be announcing the new Secretary of the Interior next week.”