On the day after President Joe Biden’s speech to solidify opposition to former President Donald Trump, Biden’s use of Marines as a backdrop for his denunciation of Trump and his followers was dividing the left.
The fuse was lit when CNN’s Brianna Keilar tweeted her disapproval.
“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,” she wrote on Thursday.
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
The tweet unleashed a firestorm of criticism.
Thanks for the reminder of why I stopped watching you. I used to be one of your biggest fans.
Now, I just SMDH.
Truly sad.— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) September 2, 2022
The best speech ever and this is what you come out with. He’s literally the Commander in Chief. Be better. #Democracy
— Ranni Ames IntolerantLeft☮️🇺🇦🇺🇸🌻 (@AmesOsaycnuc) September 2, 2022
I am a veteran and I consider President Biden’s speech to be patriotic. Republicans declared war against us on Janurary 6th, and they continue to attack what America stands for. They defend a criminal who stolen classified documents, they act like America’s enemy.
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) September 2, 2022
Anything else your handlers want you to say?
— Skolney (@Skolney79) September 2, 2022
As noted by the New York Post, writer Benjamin Dreyer condemned Keilar for supposedly copying a similar tweet from CNN’s Jeff Zeleny, failing to notice that Keilar had posted first.
You know, when you copy off the other guy’s paper, that’s called cheating. https://t.co/bPY0Yft8ud
— Benjamin Dreyer (@BCDreyer) September 2, 2022
The outrage was so great that “boycott CNN” trended on Twitter. Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, offered his explanation.
“‘Boycott [CNN]’ is trending because the communist revolutionaries are upset that one of their usually reliable house organs diverged slightly from the party line in raising mild questions about Biden’s frightening #RedSpeech,” he tweeted.
“Boycott @CNN” is trending because the communist revolutionaries are upset that one of their usually reliable house organs diverged slightly from the party line in raising mild questions about Biden’s frightening #RedSpeech.
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) September 2, 2022
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the presence of the Marines at Biden’s speech, according to another report from the Post.
“The president gave an important speech, a critical speech, and at an inflection point. And, you know, our democracy, our values that our men and women who protect us every day, and fight for every day, believe in this,” she said at a Friday news briefing.
“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,” she said.
