Trouble brews after President Obama’s ‘latte salute’ to Marines

The reaction to the less than formal gesture was swift and vitriolic among many conservatives

President Barack Obama saluted two Marines while holding a cup yesterday (Instagram)

Bill did it well and George W less so, by all accounts. Now Barack Obama has become the latest Commander-in-Chief to fall foul of the presidential salute.

Sixteen months ago, President Obama came under fire from critics after he asked Marines at the White House to hold umbrellas for him and the then-Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during an outdoor news conference.

This week, another controversy embroiled Mr Obama after he stepped off the Marine One helicopter in New York and saluted his Marines guard. But in his right hand was clutched a coffee cup and the “latte salute” was born.

The reaction to the less than formal salute was swift and vitriolic among many conservatives.

“I mean, please, how disrespectful was that?” said Republican strategist Karl Rove on Fox News.

“Obama’s disrespectful ‘latte salute’ shocks and offends,” read a headline on the Breitbart website.