'DESPICABLE!': Hegseth group yelled at for laughing at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

IRONY AND OUTRAGE ON THIS VETERANS' DAY AS. DONALD TRUMP STOOD BEFORE ASSEMBLED AMERIC. HEROES AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY AND. BOASTED OF WINNING a war that has not been won. On hallowed ground, he's attempting to cast. into shadow, flanked by a defense secretary. under threat of impeachment. for his failures in that position. Trump today insisted he'd done more to. improve care for American veterans. than any president in modern history. A statement that is not only false, but the stuff of campaign speeches. Perhaps as our friend Tom Nichols.

of The Atlantic insisted, Trump cannot grasp anything not about him. Something to keep in mind as he fights. in court to build what's in these renderings, a 250-foot tall arch at Memorial Circle, one bearing the phrase golden age of America, not liberty and justice for all, as federal commissions approved, one that would cast a shadow. on a huge portion of Arlington National. Cemetery for significant portions. of the calendar. That includes the JFK memorial, which according to Washington.

Post analysis would sit in shadow 50 days a year. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that nine. members. of the Kennedy family are now. joining a chorus of groups seeking. court intervention from their filing. Quote, Trump is attempting to unlawfully erect. a massive arch that will permanently cast. shadows over and damage historically. significant sight lines to the existing grave. sites and memorials established. in the Kennedy family's honor. at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as to the memorials. of hundreds of thousands of fallen American heroes.

Joining me at the table on this Veterans Day, Paul Rykoff. He is a U .S. Army veteran, first lieutenant. and prominent veterans advocate who served. during the Iraq War. He is now the host of the Independent Americans. VETERANS PODCAST AND THE FOUNDER AND CEO OF. INDEPENDENT VETERANS OF AMERICA. ALSO WITH US, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL IN. THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, BRENDAN BALLOU. HE IS THE FOUNDER OF THE PUBLIC INTEGRITY. PROJECT. PAUL, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU about Trump's speech. But first, there's video from the Tomb. of the Unknown Soldier. this afternoon.

It was Hegseth and a small group. They're taking photos. And then this. All visitors will maintain an atmosphere.

of silence and respect at all. Are you talking about what's at stake? No. Pete Heggseth is a piece of shit. I have to say it. Like we can all see it now. The whole world can see it. He's disrespectful. He's despicable. He's dastardly. He's a liar.

He's lied to his wives. He's lied to the country. He's lied to the president. And they are bad people. And it's no more obvious and egregious than. on Veterans Day when they act like that. And props to that guardian who has to stand up, that's Sentinel, who bravely basically said to Hegseth, don't confuse your rank with my authority. He speaks for the troops. He speaks for our democracy. He speaks for America. And I think this is a really important time to. remind people that they should still impeach him.

They blew it last night, do it again, do it today on Veteran's Day. and send a statement that this is unacceptable. and that every day he's in that office, he's not only compromising our national security, he's disgracing the office. and disgracing our country. It's in such sharp contrast to what we heard. from the president today, basically saying all Pete Hanks thinks. about is the troops, all he worries about is the troops. Trump also repeated something today. that Hanks has said yesterday. I'm not sure if you caught it, that 18 American service members died in Iran.

As you know, the official Pentagon count. puts the number of U .S. troops who've died in operations related to. the Iran war at 23. That doesn't seem incidental to me. Why can't they get these numbers right? Because they're liars. They lie about everything. They can't be trusted about anything. And just on that moment in Arlington, he took a selfie in front of the tomb. of the unknown soldier and laughed about it. I've been there. I've laid a wreath there. That is maybe the most solemn place in America. You don't take pictures there.

You go off to the side. You respect that sacred ground. And for him to not know better or not care, it's an encapsulation of his entire tenure. as secretary of defense. That's it right there. That's the whole thing in one disgraceful. IT'S A REFLECTION OF THE CULTURE THAT. THIS PRESIDENT HAS PROJECTED. THEY'RE FINE WITH PUTTING A LITERAL SHADOW OVER. ARLINGTON. ARLINGTON IS THERE AS A VISIBLE. REMINDER TO THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. ABOUT THE HUMAN COST OF THEY WANT TO HIDE IT JUST. LIKE.

THEY WANT TO HIDE THE NUMBERS, JUST LIKE THEY WANT TO HIDE THE. TRUTH. NOW IS ANOTHER GUT CHECK TIME FOR. AMERICA AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE DEMOCRATS. YOU CAN'T WAIT UNTIL JANUARY. THIS IS HAPPENING THEY ARE STILL IN CONTROL. THEY CAN STILL WAGE MORE WAR AND YOU CAN'T WAIT. UNTIL JANUARY. EVERY DAY HE'S IN OFFICE, EVERY MINUTE HE'S IN OFFICE. WE ARE LESS SAFE. LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT SHADOW. AND THAT ARCH THAT YOU REFERENCED, BRENDAN, YOU FOUGHT THE ADMINISTRATION ON. CONSTRUCTION PLANS BEFORE. IS THIS THING GOING UP OR NOT? WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG TO BRING THIS TO A. RESOLUTION?

WELL, A LARGE PART OF IT HAS BEEN. BEEN BECAUSE REALLY SMART LAWYERS. HAVE BEEN BRINGING CASES TO STOP IT. AND AS YOU KNOW, JUDGE CHUTKIN IN. THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HAS. ACTUALLY ENJOYED THE CONSTRUCTION. OF THE ARCH AT LEAST PRELIMINARILY. YOU KNOW, THERE ARE NOW AT LEAST. three different. classes of plaintiffs here. So you have Vietnam veterans, you have the state of Virginia. and District of Columbia. And now yesterday you have the Kennedy family. suing because that Memorial is going to sit. in shadow, just as you just heard.

Now, these cases rise or fall. on what lawyers call standing. You know, are you the right kind. of person who can bring a lawsuit? And frankly, these sorts of what lawyers. would call. aesthetic harms tend to be pretty tough to bring. That said, I think that the plaintiffs. here have. a really sympathetic judge who. understands what's at issue here. And frankly, with the Kennedy plaintiffs. in particular, you know, there's a line of cases about, you know, literally desecrating graves.

that they can potentially rely on here. So I think that this is, you know, these are always tricky cases, but I think the plaintiffs here have a good shot.