Paying respects
Don visits Arlington after wreath ceremonies
President Trump braved the rain Saturday during a brief visit to Arlington National Cemetery after thousands of volunteers took part in an annual holiday wreath-laying event.
Trump, who took heat last month for skipping out on Veterans Day ceremonies at the sacred burial ground, spent about 15 minutes walking through the headstones and talking to a tour guide.
Wreaths Across America annually brings together individuals and community groups to lay wreaths on thousands of graves at more than 1,400 sites, including Arlington.
Last year more than 75,000 volunteers placed wreaths at 245,000 Arlington grave sites.
Trump’s short unscheduled trip comes a little more than a month after he said he should have gone to Arlington on Veterans Day but he "was extremely busy on calls for the country. We did a lot of calling, as you know."
"In retrospect, I should have and I did last year and I will virtually every year," he said.
However, the previous year Trump was in Vietnam on Veterans Day. There he did meet with veterans in lieu of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington.
Criticism of his lack of Veterans Day plans came on the heels of a visit to a French cemetery marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War II that was canceled due to wet weather.
Other world leaders and U.S. officials were able to visit sites that weekend despite the rain. White House officials said at the time that low cloud cover grounded a planned helicopter ride and a presidential motorcade would have disrupted traffic throughout Paris.
Trump told reporters that he supported a plan to expand the military cemetery, which is 5 miles from the White House, so it could continue to hold burials for decades to come.
The President also praised a court decision against Obamacare as “a great ruling for our country,” while a U.S. government official said the decision by a Texas judge would have no immediate impact on health coverage.