Speaker Johnson played key role in Trump's recent Arlington Cemetery visit

It turns out that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) played a key role concerning former President Donald Trump's recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery. 

Trump, according to the Daily Caller, participated in an event to pay respect to the 13 service members who lost their lives as the result of the Biden-Harris administration's botched withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

"The Gold Star families, who lost their children during the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, invited Trump to Arlington National Cemetery," the outlet reports.

"However," it adds, "a Gold Star family told the Caller that Arlington National Cemetery was trying to make it difficult for the former President to appear for the ceremony to honor their children, something the families requested."

The details

According to the Daily Caller's report, the cemetery told the Gold Star Families two things.

First, "they could only be there for a specific time," a time that did not work for everyone's schedules. And, second, "the president could not join them at their children’s gravesites."

In response, the families reached out to the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul. He, in turn, took the issue to Speaker Johnson. Johnson was then able to get the matter fixed.

"It was only three days before the ceremonies, and Arlington National Cemetery waited until the last minute to confirm key components of the event with the families," a source told the Daily Caller.

The source added:

Arlington Cemetery officials claimed the families didn’t want any media, photography, or videography at Section 60, contradicting what the families had actually requested. The families were fine with the media, designated by the Trump team, but Arlington kept pushing back, obstructing the process. This would have not happened without Speaker Johnson.

More details

In related news, there have been reports that either Trump or Trump's people started a fight with individuals at the cemetery.

The Trump campaign has now responded to this allegation.

Spokesman Steven Cheung said:

There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made. 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 big question in all of this is why exactly Trump and the Gold Star Families received such opposition for the commemorative event. Many believe that the Biden-Harris White House was behind the opposition.

The White House, in response, has put out a statement, claiming, "This is a matter between the Arlington National Cemetery and the Trump campaign, not a White House matter."