KAMALA Harris was slammed for repeatedly failing to salute the military as she boarded Air Force Two – but the Pentagon has defended the vice president. Critics hit out at the VP on Tuesday, claiming she disrespected the nation’s service members by breaking with the recent custom to acknowledge the honor guard. According to a […]
KAMALA Harris was slammed for repeatedly failing to salute the military as she boarded Air Force Two – but the Pentagon has defended the vice president.
Critics hit out at the VP on Tuesday, claiming she disrespected the nation’s service members by breaking with the recent custom to acknowledge the honor guard.
According to a compilation of videos from Fox News, Harris did not return the salute from the Marine guards while boarding or leaving the vice-presidential plane on at least four occasions over the past few days.
In contrast, her predecessors Mike Pence and Joe Biden consistently saluted the guard, with Biden continuing the tradition as president.
Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik voiced his anger about Harris discontinuing the custom on Monday, sharing a video of her boarding the steps of Air Force Two.
The video has already been viewed more than a million times.
“Disgraceful,” wrote Kerik, a Trump ally who was pardoned by the former president last year.
He had been serving a four-year sentence for tax fraud and lying to White House officials when he received the pardon.
“Kamala Harris refuses to salute the honor guard at the steps of the aircraft. It is a clear demonstration of her dislike for those in uniform, both law-enforcement and military.”
Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk also hit out at Harris’s behavior.
“Remember when she and Joe Biden tried to sell the lie that *Trump* was the one who didn’t respect the troops?” he wrote in a tweet.
The Pentagon stepped in to defend the Vice President on Wednesday as it confirmed that she has no obligation to return the military salute.
Kamala Harris doesn’t salute members of the military as she gets on Air Force Two, breaking with a customary tradition of respect
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 23, 2021
Remember when she and Joe Biden tried to sell the lie that *Trump* was the one who didn’t respect the troops?pic.twitter.com/TzukhiGKL1
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told Task & Purpose that “there is no overarching instruction or regulation that requires the president or vice president to return hand salutes from members of the Armed Forces.”
“Vice President Harris has made very clear her respect and admiration for the men and women of the military, as well as their families,’ he added.
The tradition of returning the salute to the guard did not begin until President Ronald Reagan.
Reagan introduced the custom after he sought advice on how he could allow service members to lower their salutes while still in the presence of the commander in chief.
Kirby also noted that the Vice President has no official role in the military chain of command, Washington Times reports, and the president alone is the commander in chief.
It means the military obligation to salute Harris as vice president does not exist but is done so as a courtesy.
Tom Nichols, an author and professor at the U.S. Naval War College, commended Harris for not returning the salute.
“The VP is a civilian who is not in the chain of command. It would be incorrect for her to salute anyone,” he said in a tweet.
“If other VPs did it, it was incorrect.”
Despite the defense from the Pentagon, critics still believe that Harris should continue the salute tradition.
“Kamala Harris is so disrespectful! She is a total embarrassment!” wrote actor Terence Williams.
“She refused to salute our Troops, she acted like they didn’t even exist.”
“Shameful,” added right-wing political commentator Dinesh D’Souza.
Former President Barack Obama also faced criticism over failure to salute service members during his eight years in office.
In May 2013, he returned to the base of the stairs of a helicopter to shake a Marine’s hand after not initially return his salute.
“The rendering of the hand salute by military personnel is a time-honored tradition and one of the first military lessons installed in new recruits,” Kirby said of the tradition.
“From their first days in the military, new recruits are taught to salute when they meet more senior leaders – a common phrase among drill instructors is ‘When in doubt, throw it out.'”
