--- title: President Barack Obama Coffee Cup Salute Causes Twitter Storm description: Trouble is brewing on social media after the awkward gesture canonical: https://time.com/3425019/obamas-tea-cup-salute-causes-a-storm/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-24T12:04:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:41.178Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Barack Obama Coffee Cup Salute Causes Twitter Storm og:description: Trouble is brewing on social media after the awkward gesture og:url: https://time.com/3425019/obamas-tea-cup-salute-causes-a-storm/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb0e61c08acd6a6d/6986a50badae4458905451ee/455991888.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2036 og:image:height: 1145 og:image:alt: Clinton Global Initiative's 10th Annual Meeting - Day 3 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Barack Obama Coffee Cup Salute Causes Twitter Storm twitter:description: Trouble is brewing on social media after the awkward gesture twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb0e61c08acd6a6d/6986a50badae4458905451ee/455991888.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama's Tea Cup Salute Causes a Storm > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Sep 24, 2014 12:04 PM UTC  President of the United States Barack Obama addresses the Clinton Global Initiative Meeting on the third day of the Clinton Global Initiative's 10th Annual Meeting at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers on September 23, 2014 in New York City. The annual meeting, established in 2005 by President Clinton, convenes global leaders to discuss solutions to world problems. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images) President of the United States Barack Obama addresses the Clinton Global Initiative Meeting on the third day of the Clinton Global Initiative's 10th Annual Meeting at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers on September 23, 2014 in New York City. The annual meeting, established in 2005 by President Clinton, convenes global leaders to discuss solutions to world problems. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images) Jemal Countess—Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Sep 24, 2014 12:04 PM UTC A video posted on the White House Instagram account showing President Obama informally salute two Marines while holding a cup has created a tempest of criticism on social media. The president was dismounting Marine One in New York on his way to the United Nations General Assembly when he made the gesture with beverage in hand: > [](https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/514463786104020992) Incensed conservatives tweeted their disapproval at what they considered a presidential faux pas: > [](https://twitter.com/NRCC/status/514503504376102912) > [](https://twitter.com/AAcheatum/status/514736158308564992) > [](https://twitter.com/camry2338/status/514733117995642880) > [](https://twitter.com/SecureAmerica/status/514564389824122880) By Wednesday morning #LatteSalute was trending on Twitter. But the hashtag may be all wrong: The president is known to prefer tea over coffee. Obama isn’t the first president to come under fire for an awkward salute, however: in 2001, President George W. Bush was criticized for saluting while holding his dog Barney:  President George W. Bush tries to salute the security officers at the steps of Air Force One as he holds his dog Barney, after returning from a speech to the US Conference of Mayors in Detroit, MI. Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty Images The question of whether presidents should return military salutes at all is a matter of conjecture. The tradition didn’t begin until 1981, when Ronald Reagan started to return the salute, [Reuters reports](http://blogs.reuters.com/talesfromthetrail/2008/12/24/to-salute-or-not-to-salute-thats-obamas-question/). At the time, military aides advised Reagan that the Commander-in-Chief returning a salute was against military protocol. But after consulting with Marine Corps commandant Gen. Robert Barrow, the two ultimately decided that as chief of the armed forces, the president was entitled to give salutes. Some, however, [still argue](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/14/opinion/a-senseless-salute.html) that presidents who have not been in the military ought not to salute at all. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3425019/obamas-tea-cup-salute-causes-a-storm/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3425019/obamas-tea-cup-salute-causes-a-storm/"},"headline":"Obama's Tea Cup Salute Causes a Storm","datePublished":"2014-09-24T12:04:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:41.178Z","description":"Trouble is brewing on social media after the awkward gesture","url":"https://time.com/3425019/obamas-tea-cup-salute-causes-a-storm/","keywords":["White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb0e61c08acd6a6d/6986a50badae4458905451ee/455991888.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb0e61c08acd6a6d/6986a50badae4458905451ee/455991888.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Clinton Global Initiative's 10th Annual Meeting - Day 3","caption":"Clinton Global Initiative's 10th Annual Meeting - Day 3","creditText":"Jemal Countess—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3425019/obamas-tea-cup-salute-causes-a-storm/","name":"Obama's Tea Cup Salute Causes a Storm"}}]}] ```