'Normal,' says White House after dispute over Marines' presence at Biden speech

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, Texas (AA) - Democrats and Republicans alike slammed President Joe Biden on Friday for using two US Marines as what has been called a political maneuver in his "Soul of the Nation" speech Thursday night, while the White House defended the move.

"We need to make sure that our military is as removed from politics as possible," said former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Allison Jaslow in an interview with CNN.

"It's not right if a Democrat uses the military as a political pawn and it's not right if the Republican Party does it as well," she added. "None of our politicians or elected leaders should do that."

During what amounted to an anti-MAGA (Make America Great Again) speech criticizing former president Donald Trump and his base, Biden was flanked by two US Marines as he warned Americans that Trump and his Republican followers represent "an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic."

“For a long time, we’ve told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed, but it’s not,” Biden said, as he implied that those Marines standing behind him were a key part of protecting democracy. “We have to defend it, protect it, stand up for it.”

As Biden called on Americans to vote in November, many critics noticed the presence of the two service members standing on both sides and pointed out that the American military should serve as apolitical symbols having no alliance to any particular political party.

"(The) most demagogic, outrageous, and divisive speech I have ever seen from an American president," said conservative commentator Ben Shapiro in an online post. "Joe Biden essentially declared all those who oppose him and his agenda enemies of the republic. Truly shameful."

Trump himself lashed out at Biden on his social media platform, even though the former president used military members in backdrops for his own photo ops.

"If you look at the words and meaning of the awkward and angry Biden speech... he threatened America, including with the possible use of military force," Trump wrote.

"Someone should explain to Joe Biden, slowly but passionately, that MAGA means, as powerfully as mere words can get, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he said. "If he doesn’t want to Make America Great Again, which through words, action, and thought, he doesn’t, then he certainly should not be representing the United States of America!"

The White House issued a statement saying that the use of military members at events "is not abnormal, it is actually normal."

"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 into defending our democracy no matter which party is in power," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a news conference.