Critics Grind Obama Over 'Starbucks Salute'
The presidential practice of saluting military members when exiting an aircraft was for a while on Tuesday dubbed the "Starbucks salute" after President Obama greeted two Marines with a coffee cup in his hand after landing in New York. It also was given the hashtag #LatteSalute, although what he was actually drinking is unknown and the president reportedly prefers tea.
Anger almost immediately began brewing in the Twitterverse after the White House posted a video of the incident on Instagram. The words "shameful" and "disrespectful" were frequently used.
"I support my president but as an active member of the Marines Corps this Starbucks salute was painful," wrote one poster.
"I had to salute with a prosthetic arm, yet Obama cant [sic] put down his damn latte? Come on," wrote another.
The National Republican Congressional Committee also weighed in with,"Wait — did President Obama just salute the Marines with a LATTE in his hand?!"
On Facebook, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin wrote, "U.S. Armed forces, our apologies."
"Are we surprised?" said Republican strategist Karl Rove in a Tuesday night appearance on Fox News. " After all we've got a chai-swilling, golf-playing, basketball trash-talking, leading-from-behind, 'I got no strategy, Osama bin Laden is dead, GM is alive,' community-organizing commander in chief."
Luckily for the GOP, Twitter didn't exist when this photo of President George W. Bush giving a salute with his dog Barney in his arms was taken, but did it stir many headlines?
(Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
Follow Joyce Jones on Twitter: @BETpolitichick.
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(Photo: White House via Instagram)