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President Obama, The Commander-in-chief sparks fury by saluting Marines with a drink in his hand {VIDEO} What do you think?

cup

President was exiting his Marine One helicopter after landing in New York City for speeches about global warming and fighting ISIS in Syria
Commander-in-chief is a military title that entitles Obama to a salute, and he's expected to return the gesture
On Tuesday he saluted two uniformed US Marines while holding a cup in his hand, a breach that won't win him fans among veterans or servicemen
Twitter erupted with the president's indignant detractors
The White House put a short video of his arrival in New York on its own Instagram page, creating a public gaffe that no photographer had shown

President Barack Obama saluted a pair of United States Marines on Tuesday while holding what appeared to be a styrofoam cup in his saluting hand, a breach of military regulations that won't win him fans among veterans and servicemen.

Obama is known for drinking tea, not coffee, when he travels, especially before delivering speeches.

His quasi-saluting gesture was an instant embarrassment for the White House, and not because his environmentally taboo drinkware clashed with the green-policy speech he was on his way to deliver at a UN Climate Summit.

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Americans weren't amused after the White House posted a short video clip showing the commander-in-chief casually saluting a pair of US Marines while holding a drink

Americans, including those who have served in uniform, reacted harshly on Twitter after Obama's salute faux pas

JUDGMENT: With no news photographers catching the embarrassing moment, some are scratching their heads about why the White House published the video clip on its own

Saluting military personnel is something presidents are expected to do since they're at the top of the Pentagon's chain of command.

It's customary for a commander-in-chief to salute uniformed servicemen and women who salute him first as a sign of respect.

President Ronald Reagan reportedly began the tradition and future presidents, both Republicans and Democrats, followed suit.

But Obama's casual approach to the moment as he left his Marine One chopper at a helipad in New York City came at a time when he had just ordered U.S. fighter planes to fly perilous missions in the skies over Syria.

Twitter predictably erupted, with most commenters expressing outrage and a few insisting that it wasn't a major mistake.

Arriving: Marine One lands in New York City (above) as President Obama heads to deliver remarks at the United Nations Climate Summit

Keynote:President Obama (above) called on everyone in the international community to cut their carbon pollution during his speech

Real estate mogul and long-time Obama critic Donald Trump weighed in on the controversy, proclaiming the president's coffee cup salute 'terrible' in response to a tweet from one of his followers.

The 'Customs and Courtesies' manual of the U.S. Marine Corps advises that there are circumstances in which it's not appropriate to render a salute.

One of them is when military personnel are 'carrying articles with both hands or being otherwise so occupied as to make saluting impractical.'

Obama salutes Marines with coffee cup in hand

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A Yahoo News reporter mocked the president, speculating on the Starbucks size of his salute

His two cents: In response to a tweet from one of his followers about the coffee cup salute, Donald Trump proclaimed Obama's faux pas 'terrible!'

U.S. MILITARY MANUALS ON PROPER SALUTES

U.S. Army Field Manual:

'Raise the right hand sharply, fingers and thumb extended and joined, palm facing down, and ... touch the tip of the right forefinger to the forehead near and slightly to the right of the right eyebrow.'

U.S. Marine 'Customs and Courtesies'

'In some situations, the salute is not appropriate. In general, do not salute when ... carrying articles with both hands or being otherwise so occupied as to make saluting impractical.'

The U.S. Army Field Manual describes the correct procedure for rendering a salute.

It instructs that when 'uncovered' – that is, not wearing a cap – one should 'touch the tip of the right forefinger to the forehead near and slightly to the right of the right eyebrow.'

During Tuesday's salute, Obama's cup was the only thing that made contact with his head.

Obama made saluting news once before, in 2013, when he forgot to salute a Marine guarding his chopper before he bounded up the stairs to board it.

Instead of sticking his head out the door and saluting, Obama returned all the way to ground level – and shook the young man's hand instead.

No wire photographers captured pictures of the exact moment when the president executed his unconventional tea cup maneuver on Tuesday, but online fury built after the White House itself posted a short video clip of it on its Instagram page.

'What's worse?' one Twitter user asked: 'that Obama didn't put down his coffee cup before saluting, or that the WH thought it was smart to post it?'

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Comment by 3nigirl on September 26, 2014 at 1:25am: No matter what our president do somebody always got some s*** to say

Comment by Michael Whyte on September 25, 2014 at 4:10pm: should respect to those who are protecting you

Comment by Empress of Jah on September 25, 2014 at 6:30am: These folks are just waiting for the president to make a mistake doing basically anything. I wish that they would be holding their breath until he truly does something wrong if you get my message!

Comment by keson simon on September 25, 2014 at 2:00am: half of these motherf**** dont salute dem any damn way soo what the point

Comment by mr fix on September 25, 2014 at 12:19am: What most of you don't overstand or get is that we as Black People are hold at a higher standard above every other race by all.

Comment by Vanessa Kingston-Augustine on September 24, 2014 at 11:02pm: Next time he should have a big spliff in his mouth. That would give them something to talk about. Who cares. He is doing his two terms anyway. Ha ha. Go head Mr. Pres show how we do. Lol. Jah bless.

Comment by edward rivera on September 24, 2014 at 10:52pm: Who cares at least he is doing something for this country. Not like some Americans ( white ) Americans that sit at home and make kids and put a drain on our country . And scared to fight for our country ... Go Obama .

Comment by Sakpasetci on September 24, 2014 at 9:44pm: Smt

Comment by Niroma Johnson on September 24, 2014 at 7:44pm: I really did not realize how ignorant people really are. Why would you even bother that the President of the United States has a cup in his hand. To me it is better than a gun in his hand killing innocent people. How about focusing on that! How about focusing all the ignorance going on after all these years when it comes to cultures and other races? People really need to sit on someone's professional couch.

Comment by Delesia Pruitt on September 24, 2014 at 5:04pm: If he would have put the cup on the ground then they would have said he was littering.. They always have something to complain about.......freak them.