President Trump sat and talked through the nightly playing of "Retreat" as the American flag was lowered on a Pennsylvania Air National Guard base during his interview with Sean Hannity. Trump, who has been criticizing NFL players who kneel through the national anthem to protest racism, seemed caught off-guard by loudspeakers playing "Retreat." The song is played every night at military bases to signal the American flag being lowered and the end of the official duty day. Military site Task and Purpose was the first to notice Trump sitting during the song. According to Task and Purpose, uniformed service members are required to stop what they're doing and salute the flag as its lowered during the song while civilians are required to place their hand over their heart. ... Trump not only does not stand or place his hand over his heart, but instead talks through the song and assumes it's being played to honor him or Hannity. People watching the rally can be seen standing for the song in the background of Trump's interview but Trump seems to not know what the song means. "Are they playing that for you or for me?" Trump joked to Hannity. "They're playing that in honor of his ratings. He's beating everybody." ... Trump's ignorance of an American military tradition comes after weeks of railing against NFL players for "disrespecting the flag" for kneeling during the national anthem. The kneeling players are protesting racism and police brutality by taking a knee during the anthem played before games. Trump last tweeted about the anthem protests Wednesday, demanding NFL players "RESPECT OUR COUNTRY." http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/t...e-amid-nfl-anthem-controversy/article/2637296
I understand this...few people outside the military understand what Morning or Evening Colors is. Similar to how civilians don't expect the anthem to be played before every movie at the base theater and require you to stand up. Civilians aren't required to place hands over hearts (it's a "custom"), but everyone outside stands still (military in uniform salutes) and cars stop and it's customary to turn down radios. I'm confident that, for whatever his other faults or abilities, the President legitimately had no earthly idea what was going on. It's not the Anthem, and you generally don't see the flag (there's one on the base, generally) but you stop when you hear the loudspeaker.
I watched the interview and without the tight editing in your clip it was no disrespect. It caught pretty much the whole crew off guard and I'm sure more than a few viewers in the middle of an interview, the President expressed genuine appreciation for the music as soon as he heard it, and immediately asked what it's significance was. I'm not sure what you would have your President do differently?
Read page 113 of the BJM, under the chapter of Courtesies, Customs, and Ceremonies. It's time tested now.
The president should know what's going on though, because he's the president... The guy who's in charge of whether or not our soldiers have to go put their lives on the line for this country. It's even worse that he has blasted NFL players for kneeling during the anthem in protest to real problems that the president won't address, and then he does something like this. It's quite hypocritical to say the least.
Not close. Everyone knows the anthem, and everyone knows (because they've been told, by multiple people) what the kneeling is for. Do you think "evening colors protocol" is one of the things he was briefed on during his turnover? I'm trying soooo hard not to turn this into an "Obama did this, Bush did this..." thing. Let's just all agree that since Trump, Obama and Clinton are the only Presidents in the last 80 years to not have some sort of military training, they all did/do stupid shit that isn't in line with protocol or regulations. And it isn't out of disrespect. Now, if someone had said "Mr. President, we stand for Evening Colors as the flag is being lowered" and he said "Fuck that, the America I'm in charge of doesn't represent me and I'm going to kneel..." well, then, I'd agree that he can be blasted for that.
I'm a bigger fan of the 1904 Navy Officer's guide: "The enlisted man is cunning and devious and bears constant watching"
