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Vance Gives Memorial Day Speech At Arlington Natl. Cemetery; Trump Gives Memorial Day Speech At Arlington Natl. Cemetery. Aired 12- 12:30p ET

Aired May 26, 2025 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: Welcome to Inside Politics. I'm Dana Bash in Washington. And right now, we're waiting for the president of the United States, who, at any moment, will speak at Arlington National Cemetery on this solemn day, Memorial Day, when the United States stops to salute the servicemen and women who gave everything for freedom.

Right now, the U.S. Marine band with the U.S. Navy band, sea chanters are singing, this land is your land. Let's listen in.

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BASH: Absolutely beautiful. And as we wait to see and hear from the president of the United States. I want to go straight to our White House correspondent -- senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes, who is at the White House.

Kristen, you know, we are going to hear probably a very traditional speech from a commander in chief who is doing a very traditional and very important duty right now at Arlington National Cemetery, honoring those who have given the ultimate sacrifice throughout the history of America, and that is sort of one part of Donald Trump. Another part is the way that he began the day on his social media platform.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Dana, that's right. He's very traditional Donald Trump, just in the sense that he has these two parts of him. One of them is this lashing out at political opponents, constantly talking about how people have wronged him, and that's how he spent this morning. It was a post that was supposed to be wishing everyone a happy Memorial Day again, day that is there to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

But Donald Trump did make it personal about himself. He said that his perceived enemies, he referred to them as scum. He also said that members of the federal judiciary were U.S. hating and monsters, and that his predecessor, former Joe -- President Joe Biden, was, quote, incompetent. That was just part of the message. Of course, the first part was happy Memorial Day to all, including the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped, radical left minds.

[12:05:00] Again, we've kind of become accustomed to this kind of rhetoric from the president of the United States. We've seen it since his first term in office, when he uses these holidays, he uses these posts where he's reaching out to a certain community to then really pile on at his political opponents, to pile on at other people, to issue these attacks on people again that he perceives has wronged him. So, we'll see what comes out when he actually takes the stage there.

This is a very solid moment. This is a tradition. It's something he has done in the past. So, it seems unlikely that he would add this kind of rhetoric, since we haven't always seen that in these kind of events. However, obviously Donald Trump right now is spending the morning, or spent the morning before he got to Arlington really feeling like he had to reach out and lash out at these various "enemies of his."

BASH: Yeah, and you're absolutely right. This is something that he tends to do on holidays, not just today, which is honoring America's war dead, but on Christmas and other holidays. What are you hearing from your sources about what he plans to do in his speech that we're going to hear shortly.

HOLMES: They are telling me that this is a very traditional speech, that he is going to strike a solemn tone, that this is something that he has done before. Of course, as we know, Donald Trump does believe, and we have seen that in a lot of the numbers that the military is a big supporter as a whole. When you look at various service members, they support Donald Trump.

So, he feels compelled to reach out to members of the military. And remember, during the campaign, he spent a lot of time with Gold Star families, in particular, the people killed, the families of those who were killed in the Afghanistan withdrawal. He also went to Arlington at the end of the campaign to visit their grave sites. He does feel a connection to service members in general.

Obviously, that was in part political because of the fact that it was Biden's withdrawal, and he was running for office against Joe Biden. But he does feel compelled to reach out to military families, particularly given the fact that he believes that they voted for him. But that has not always been the history of Donald Trump. We have heard all of the reports of things that he has said behind closed doors about military members.

However, when he is out there publicly talking to these families, I can tell you from experience, from also talking to these families, he tends to really try to ingratiate himself with them. That's why they invited him to Arlington in the past, and when he's there today, that's what he's expected to do, is again, reach out to these service members and their families. We'll see whether or not he stays on message.

BASH: Yeah. Well, speaking of that and we're going to get to the ceremony in one second. But I do want to make sure to underscore something else that we saw over the weekend, which is the president gave a speech at the West Point graduation. He talked about critical race theory, transgender, no more transgender for anybody -- everybody in uniform. He talked about a friend who got divorced and found a new trophy wife.

Those kinds of things which I talked to some members of the military who were there, who were not pleased with that. But this is a new day and a new experience that we're going to see and hear from the president. So, let's listen in to the vice president as he introduces President Trump.

JD VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- for a nation that would not exist absent their incredible courage. Now we know their families in particular, have given so much. And in particular, I want to speak to the Gold Star families, to the families who have lost a son, a daughter, a husband or a wife, to every child here who misses your dad or your mom, know that your loved one to us is a hero. And though we cannot know your pain, please know that I speak for the entire nation. When I say that we are grateful to them and to you for a debt none of us can possibly repay.

Now, all of us will honor the fallen and their families in our own way. But allow me to suggest two ways of honoring their sacrifice, two ways that I try to honor their sacrifice every day. First, we ought to commit ourselves and expect from our leaders to treat the lives of our troops as the most precious resource, the very best way. The very best way to honor the fallen is to only ask the next generation to make the ultimate sacrifice when they absolutely must. We must be cautious in sending our people to war.

The second, that I -- second way that I try to honor --

BASH: And as we continue to monitor Vice President Vance and wait for President Trump to take the microphone. We're going to sneak in a quick commercial break. We'll be right back.

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[12:10:00]

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BASH: Welcome back. Let's listen in to President Trump at Arlington National Cemetery on this Memorial Day.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. A very special place and a very special day. Thank you to Vice President Vance, doing a terrific job. Thanks also to a man who has devoted his life to service members and veterans. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who's doing really well. He went through a lot, didn't he, but he's doing really well. He's a tough cookie. That's what we want. He's a tough cookie.

And we're grateful to be joined as well by Chairman Caine, terrific military person, members of the cabinet, members of Congress, members of the United States' armed forces, veterans and many other distinguished guests. We gather today to honor the incredible service members who rest in glory in this cemetery and burial grounds around the world.

And in a thousand lonely places known only to God in every hour of peril and every moment of crisis, American warriors have left behind the blessings of home and family to answer their nation's call. They've offered all that they had within them and given their last breaths to each and every one of us that we might live safe and breathe free.

This morning, we pay tribute to their immortal deeds. We share in the sorrow of their beloved families, and as one nation, we give thanks for the ultimate gift they have, so selflessly given to all of us. These warriors, and that's what they are as great, great warriors picked up their mantle of duty and service, knowing that to live for others meant always that they might die for others. They knew that. They asked nothing for it. They gave everything, and we owe them everything and much, much more.

Each of the service members who have made the supreme sacrifice for our nation has also left an unfillable void and an unbreakable silence in the lives of all who love them. For the families of the fallen, you feel the absence of your heroes every day in the family. These are great families. These are wonderful families.

In the familiar laugh, no longer heard the empty space at Sunday dinner or the want of a hug or a pat on the back that will never come again. Every Gold Star family fights a battle long after the victory is won, and today, we lift you up and we hold you high. Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving America the brightest light in your lives. It's what you've done.

We will never ever forget our fallen heroes and we will never forget our debt to you. This Memorial Day is especially significant as we commemorate 250 years since the first American patriots fell on the field of battle. Two and a half centuries ago at Lexington Green, Concord Bridge, Bunker Hill, brave Minuteman and humble farm boys became the first to give their lives for a nation that did not yet have a name.

[12:15:00]

With their deaths, men like John Brown 23, Samuel Hadley 28 and Abner Hosmer 21, ignited the flame of liberty that now lights the inspires everybody and the entire world. Those young men could never have known what their sacrifice would mean to us, but we certainly know what we owe to them. Their valor gave us the freest, greatest and most noble republic ever to exist on the face of the earth, a republic that I am fixing after a long and hard four years. That was a hard four years we went through.

Who would let that happen? People pouring through our borders, unchecked, people doing things that are indescribable and not for today to discuss. But the republic that is now doing so very well. We're doing so very well right now, considering the circumstances and will do record setting better with time. We will do better than we've ever done as a nation, better than ever before. I promise you that. In every generation since at Trenton and Yorktown, at Vicksburg and Shiloh, and in faraway places with names like Chateau terrari, Anzio Iwo Jima, Quezon, Kandahar, really just a few chosen names. And these are names that have become so important on the altar of freedom. They plunged into the crucible of battle, stormed into the fires of hell, charged into the valley of death and rose into the arms of angels.

The sacrifice that they made was not merely for a single battle, a long-ago victory or a fleeting triumph, decades or centuries past. Their sacrifice was for today, tomorrow and every morning thereafter. Every child that lives in peace, every home that is filled with joy and love, every day the republic stands is only possible because of those who did what had to be done when duty called, and the cost was everything to them and to their families.

Our debt to them is eternal, and it does not diminish with time. It only grows and grows and grows with each passing year. The greatest monument to their courage is not carved in marble or cast in bronze. It's all around us, an American nation, 325 million strong, which will soon be greater than it has ever been before, it will be.

And so today, we uphold the memory of our heroes, as people have done since ancient times, by telling their stories and exalting their names. Senior Master Sergeant Elroy Harworth was a young, beautiful man from Erhard, Minnesota. When he enlisted in the Air Force and was sent to Vietnam.

59 years ago, this very week, Elroy and his crew mates climbed into the dark skies over Danang, on a classified mission known as operation Carolina Moon. Their aim was to blow up a key enemy bridge, and while other crews had tried and failed, they were determined to try and get it done in face of extreme danger, and they knew how bad it was.

As their C-130 closed in on its target, and Elroy jockeyed his 5000 pounds of explosives into position, the aircraft came under unbelievably intense fire. They had never seen anything like it. Try as they might, they were hit as the plane swung low and they went down, deep in enemy territory. Elroy was just 24 years old when he gave his life for America, leaving behind a beautiful young wife who was seven months pregnant.

That meant Elroy would never know the joy of meeting his son, Troy, or seeing him grow. And he would never have the pride to watch his son, follow in his father's footsteps and serve two decades in the U.S. Army. Sergeant first class, Troy Harworth is with us today, joined by his wife Sonia and their son John, the grandson, Elroy never got to hold. Thank you, Troy, and thank you John. And above all, thank you Elroy. Thank you very much. Please stand up. Thank you. Whoever you may be. Thank you very much. Great family.

[12:20:00]

Corporal Ryan McGhee of Fredericksburg, Virginia, knew from the time he saw the towers fall on 9/11 that he wanted to be an Army Ranger. He was an American guy, all American. He was a tough guy. The top of everything. In high school, he was captain of the football team and was voted friendliest and most charming by his peers.

Ryan joined the army soon after graduation, and after three tours in Afghanistan, he deployed to Iraq. He and his unit were tasked with hunting down a weapon, facilitator and a suicide bomber cell near Baghdad, a vicious, vicious cell killing many, many people. 16 years ago, this month, they engaged the enemy in a firefight, and Ryan was mortally wounded. He gave his life at 21 years old, and today he rests until the end of time in the famed Section 60 here at Arlington, where we have buried our honored dead from the war on terror.

We are joined today by Ryan's mom, Sherrie. Sherrie, all of America shares in your grief, and more importantly, we share in your pride and your wonderful son. And thank you so much for being here, Sherrie. Where are you sherry? Thank you, Sherrie. Thank you very much on behalf of everyone. This crowd is so big. She's hard to find. Once I saw her, she really stands out. Thank you, Sherrie, very much.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent grew up in Pine Plains, New York, before enlisting in the Navy in 2003, and she quickly became one of the rising stars. She was an absolute winner. As a linguist, translator and cryptologic technician, Shannon worked alongside elite special force units like Delta Force and Navy SEALs to help them capture and kill terrorists. She was among the first women ever to do it, and she did it better than anyone.

In January 2019, Shannon was on her fifth combat deployment, embedded with a team, hunting ISIS terrorists through the streets of Syria when a suicide bomber detonated his weapon, killing Senior Chief Kent and three other wonderful, beautiful Americans. She left behind her husband Joe and their two sons, three-year-old Colten, and 18-month- old baby Josh. Today, Shannon rests in peace on these grounds alongside her comrades.

To her boys Colten and Josh, who are here this morning now, age nine and seven. Let me say your mom was a hero, and her love, her strength and her spirit are always with us and always be with you. She loved her boys. To Joe the boys. Shannon's parents, Mary and Steven, and her sister, Mariah. Shannon's name will live forever in the chronicles of true American patriots. I just want to thank you and thank you so much for being here in honor of your magnificent family member.

Stories like Shannon's, Ryan's and Elroy remind us of the real meaning of the day. And I want to just say, please stand up wherever you may be. The boys. I want to see those boys. Where are you?

[12:25:00]

Hey, good looking guys. Thank you very much for being here. All of you thank you so much. We should never forget, even for a moment, that freedom is a gift of the highest cost, and peace is one at the most precious price. These extraordinary American heroes and their immense and ultimate sacrifices, they offer only the faintest glimpse at the infinite grace we have received from all who laid down their lives for America over the past 250 years.

We're going to have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years, in some ways, I'm glad I missed that second term where it was because I wouldn't be your president for that most important of all. In addition, we have the World Cup, and we have the Olympics. Can you imagine. I missed that four years and now look, what I have. I have everything, amazing the way things work out.

God did that. I believe that too. You know, I got the World Cup and I got the Olympics. The 250 years was not mine. I'd like to take credit, but I got the Olympics, I got the World Cup when I was president. And I said, boys, it's too bad, I won't be president then. And look, what happened. I turned out, and we're going to have a great time. We're going to have a great celebration. But most important of all is the 250th anniversary that blows everything away, including the World Cup and including the Olympics, as far as I'm concerned.

In any corner of this cemetery, at any resting place for our war dead, anywhere on earth, you'll find untold stories of equal heroism and heartbreak, unmatched patriotism and devotion and acts of selflessness and courage, so enormous they defy comprehension. Most people can't even imagine it.

Great poets have written that, it's love which moves the sun and the stars, but here on the sacred soil, right where we are, we're reminded that it's love which moves the course of history and moves it always, toward freedom, always from Bunker Hill to Bastogne, Cantigny to Coral Sea, from Gettysburg to Guadalcanal, and Concord to Kabul.

America's best and America's bravest have fought, bled and died so that we could pick up the torch of liberty, raise it high, high, high, and carry it onward to places they could never have dreamed of before. Today, we honor their memories. We remember their gallantry. We revere -- just revere in the highest sense. We just revere their incredible legacy.

We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory, and we continue our relentless pursuit of America's destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer and greater than ever before. May God bless our fallen heroes. May God bless our Gold Star families and may God bless United States of America. Thank you very much, everybody. Great honor. Thank you. Thank you,

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the playing of Taps and the benediction.

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