President Donald Trump conceded to Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace that he should have attended a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day, in a forthcoming interview.
“I should have done that. I was extremely busy on calls for the country. We did a lot of calling, as you know,” Trump said.
He continued:
I could have done that. As you know, I just left the day before the American Cemetery, and I probably think — and that was one where it was raining as hard as you can imagine, and I made a speech at the American Cemetery the day before, and I probably — you know, in retrospect I should have, and I did last year, and I will virtually every year.
US President Donald Trump takes part in a ceremony at the American Cemetery of Suresnes, outside Paris, on November 11, 2018 as part of Veterans Day and commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the 11 November 1918 armistice, ending World War I. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
Trump referenced how the day before the federal holiday of Veterans Day that he had attended a memorial service for World War I soldiers in Paris, France, the day earlier. (RELATED: TRUMP: SECRET SERVICE WOULD NOT LET ME DRIVE TO FRENCH CEMETERY)
The president continued, “But we had come in very late at night and I had just left, literally, the American Cemetery in Paris and I really probably assumed that was fine and I was extremely busy because of affairs of state — doing other things.”
US President Donald Trump (L) and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (3rd L) mark Memorial Day by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on May 28, 2018. JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
The president came under some criticism from Democratic lawmakers for not taking part in any official duties on Veterans Day.
Trump also faced immense backlash after he was supposed to attend a memorial service Saturday but was forced to back out because of bad weather. The president said the Secret Service would not allow him to fly on his helicopter to drive, prompting the cancelation.
By the way, when the helicopter couldn’t fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetery in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
