The White House on Friday defended the presence of U.S. Marines at President Biden’s speech in Philadelphia the previous evening, arguing their positioning during the prime-time speech was to demonstrate the president’s respect for service members.
“The presence of the Marines at the speech was intended to demonstrate the deep and abiding respect the president has for these service members to these ideals and the unique role our independent military plays in defending our democracy no matter which party is in power,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Marines were stationed behind the president as he spoke on Thursday, drawing scrutiny over the use of the military during a speech centered around blasting former President Trump and warning that the former president and Republicans aligned with him are “a threat to this country.”
“Whatever you think of this speech, the military is supposed to be apolitical. Positioning Marines in uniform behind President Biden for a political speech flies in the face of that. It’s wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it,” tweeted CNN anchor Brianna Keilar, whose husband is in the military.
White House officials have pushed back against criticism that the speech was overly political in nature.
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White House defends presence of Marines at Biden speech https://t.co/bfrBbvMMOw pic.twitter.com/yXU4wTCAZR
— The Hill (@thehill) September 2, 2022
Whatever you think of this speech the military is supposed to be apolitical. Positioning Marines in uniform behind President Biden for a political speech flies in the face of that. It’s wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it.
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) September 2, 2022
It’s possible to agree with everything Biden said and still disagree with using Marines as backdrops for a political speech. Easier for military connected folks to grasp, like @jaslow, an Iraq war vet and former executive director of the @dccc: https://t.co/CRGfKPZofK https://t.co/MBrVMoKqgA
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) September 2, 2022
1. "Whatabout this" is not a good answer
2. Milley said it was wrong and apologized for it https://t.co/C5dSTGgXzJ— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 2, 2022
"For some scholars who study civil-military affairs, the use of the Marines as backdrop to the speech was unwise."
Huh. People who study this stuff thought it might be a bad idea,, you say? https://t.co/y0RF6mmq4w
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 2, 2022
The president of the United States has told us directly that our system of government is under attack. What happens next is, in every way, up to us.https://t.co/P9WNTEApJi
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 2, 2022
Biden needs to be “oversensitive and cautious about optics to try to strengthen some of the norms” that Trump weakened, said one scholar on civil-military affairs.
The use of the Marines was “not a crisis, but it could and should have been avoided.”https://t.co/E6j56RgsCa
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) September 2, 2022
Saw a montage of photos of presidents giving speeches with the Marines present. Some were Republican. This is nothing new.
Marines are always there when a president gives a speech. They may not be visible, but they are there. It’s the duty of the Marines to guard the president.
I said elsewhere having the Marines there for President Biden’s speech may have been a subtle message to the magas that he is the Commander-in-Chief and that he will not tolerate another coup attempt or violence of any kind.
People just can't stop affirming to me why what they think was a good idea was, in fact, a bad idea https://t.co/Yb4fw8inHv
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 2, 2022
"For some scholars who study civil-military affairs, the use of the Marines as backdrop to the speech was unwise."
Huh. People who study this stuff thought it might be a bad idea,, you say? https://t.co/y0RF6mmq4w
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 2, 2022
If you still can't understand the Marine thing (and the issue of civ-mil relations in general), read this thread. https://t.co/3Q6Wz26U6H
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 3, 2022
Ofc, pols know this, which is why they do it, bc the public likes the mil and thinks, oh, if the mil likes this person/policy, it must be good. But that’s not a good way to run a society.
TFG did this on steroids, significantly damaging what was already a weakened norm.
3/— Lindsay P Cohn (@lindsaypcohn) September 3, 2022
*TFG = The Former Guy, meaning Trump
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