Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said Wednesday that the president has the highest level of respect for members of the military when asked about the “latte salute” that has caused uproar among military and conservative communities.
“Thousands of times, people have seen it in countless different images of the president saluting them both for their service and their work,” he said on MSNBC.
When asked specifically about the president’s thoughts on saluting Marines with a coffee cup in hand, Mr. Earnest said he had not spoken to the president about the incident.
“The president has the highest amount of respect for the men and women who are responsible for operating the presidential helicopter. These are experts in their field,” he said.
Mr. Earnest also responded to the president’s level of worry about the fact that Secret Service agents allowed a veteran armed with a knife to get inside the front door of the White House before being stopped. He said that the president has full confidence in the Secret Service agents, as well as the leadership of the agency.
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
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