President Biden faced allegations of showing disrespect when he swiftly departed from the East Room of the White House before the conclusion of a Medal of Honor ceremony dedicated to honoring a Vietnam War veteran on Tuesday. The abrupt exit occurred after he had placed the nation’s highest military decoration on the neck of retired Army Capt. Larry Taylor, aged 81, just before Chaplain Brig. Gen. William Green Jr. was set to deliver the closing benediction.
Afterward, military veterans strongly criticized President Biden, contending that the commander-in-chief displayed a surprising deficiency in respect.
“Pardon my French…But what a f—ing idiot. The continuous lack of respect Biden has for anyone is appalling. Hawaii, Service members, active shooter victims, the list goes on,” Shawn Ryan, a former Navy SEAL and host of a podcast, took to Twitter to express his thoughts following the president’s abrupt departure.
Representative Wesley Hunt from Texas, who is also an Army veteran, made a snarky comment on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, “At least he didn’t check his watch this time.”
He was alluding to a previous incident when President Biden seemed to check his wristwatch during a somber ceremony commemorating the 13 US troops who lost their lives in a terrorist attack near Kabul airport in August 2021.
This raised questions about whether Biden’s abrupt departure had been premeditated or if it was yet another instance of the elderly leader appearing uncertain about his next steps after addressing the public.
Tim Harmsen, who serves as the state director for Indiana at Gun Owners of America, shared his thoughts on Twitter, “Do you think this was done on purpose or just is it more senile moments? I think the guy is so self-absorbed he makes blunders like this. God this man is a massive embarrassment to our nation.”
In the official video of the ceremony released by the White House, the footage abruptly ends right after President Biden departs from the East Room, without including the chaplain’s benediction.
The White House did not provide an immediate response to The Post’s inquiry.
Larry Taylor was bestowed with the Medal of Honor in recognition of his heroic actions during a battle in Vietnam that took place in June 1968.
The accomplished helicopter pilot courageously faced severe ground fire for a duration of 45 minutes, executing low-level attack runs and engaging the enemy with both bullets and aerial rockets as they encircled US forces on the ground.
As his fuel and ammunition supplies dwindled, Taylor made the decision to extract the US patrol group.
He accomplished this daring feat using his two-person Cobra helicopter, an unprecedented and previously unattempted maneuver during the course of the war, demonstrating complete disregard for his own safety even in the face of enemy gunfire.
