Fox News Report On Kamala Harris Not Saluting Gets Fierce Fact Check
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A Fox News report criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris for not saluting the military honor guard at Air Force Two got plenty of backlash on Tuesday.
Critics ripped the conservative news channel for stirring up false outrage, pointing out that the vice president is not in the military chain of command and was not violating protocol.
Fox News wrote in a report on its website of Harris “appearing to break with precedent and failing to salute the honor guard” when boarding the plane. It included insulting tweets from former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik and right wing radio host Charlie Kirk, who showed a video of a recent Air Force Two approach and accused Harris of being disrespectful to men and women in uniform.
DISGRACEFUL: @VP 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. pic.twitter.com/7QFHzamnt7
— Bernard B. Kerik (@BernardKerik) March 23, 2021
Ex-Vice President Mike Pence and President Joe Biden were seen on video saluting honor guards when they were vice president, Fox News noted. But Dick Cheney, who served as veep under GOP President George W. Bush, is shown elsewhere on video not saluting.
Many on Twitter pointed out that Harris was not breaking protocol, because she is a civilian and not in the chain of command.
Even the commander-in-chief is not required to salute. The late President Ronald Reagan began the practice as a “matter of courtesy,” U.S. Naval War College professor Tom Nichols wrote.
“There is no overarching instruction or regulation that requires the President or Vice President to return hand salutes from members of the Armed Forces,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby wrote to HuffPost in a statement on Wednesday. “Vice President Harris has made very clear her respect and admiration for the men and women of the military, as well as their families.”
Many on Twitter jumped at the opportunity to fact check Fox News:
It's not protocol.
Fox News consistently fails to tell the truth.— Geoff (@GeoffFrck) March 24, 2021
VP Harris, correctly, did not render a salute. She does not exist in the military chain of command. This means that saluting is inappropriate. If previous VPs did so then they were wrong.
— W.J.Wylie3 it was an attempted coup not a riot (@BillWylie3rd) March 24, 2021
She is not in the chain of command. Then again you know this. You just want to stroke discord and hate for clicks and ratings.
— POX (@xpjupiter) March 24, 2021
"She's not one of us! Wink wink." ~ Fox News
— LlsRdub, Esq. (@LlsRdub) March 24, 2021
VP is a civilian.
Fox News isn’t news.— Arnold Ziffel 🇺🇸 (@DontMessWMurphy) March 24, 2021
You should really review protocol. She is not required nor should she feel compelled to salute.
— Andrew Schumer (@SchumerAndrew) March 24, 2021
Actually, she's gone back to precedent as she is not in the COC. pic.twitter.com/oSna0HXJdN
— Michael (@mikethenavyguy) March 24, 2021
It’s a theatrical gesture that was started by an actor president.........
— Timmy L. (@TimLanigan2) March 24, 2021
SMH 😑 pic.twitter.com/CkqsxCAbG2
— LG 🐝🛣️ (@kbnjq) March 24, 2021
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
