Marines' Umbrellas Photo is Rare: Uniformed Men Protect Obama From Rain
Marines presented an uncommon site on Thursday when the call of duty called for an umbrella over the President's head.
Rain broke through the sun Thursday while President Obama and his guest, the Turkish prime minister, stepped from the Oval Office into the Rose Garden for a news conference. And while Obama attempted to ignore the rain for a moment, he was eventually distracted.
Not one to be deterred by the weather, Obama improvised instead. Because the Turkish prime minister may not have a change of clothes, Obama noted jokingly, he decided to call over two marines instead. He then asked the marines to hold an umbrella over both his and the prime minister's head.
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A photograph of the two marines holding the umbrellas eventually surfaced on the Internet. But according to Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Greg Wolf, the image of a marine holding an umbrella is " extremely rare." Typically because it could interfere with a salute, Marines are not allowed to carry umbrellas when in uniform, Wolf told CNN News.
While some viewed the event as small, or a simple act of service, however, others accused the president of "humiliating" and "belittling" the Marines on a CNN blog.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Washington comes just days after two car bombs in Turkey killed dozens during a deadly terrorist attack. The Prime Minister hopes to get Obama more involved in taking action that will end violence in the area.
"As much as Erdogan wants the US to exert greater power in Syria, the Obama administration sees Turkey as a critical broker on a host of issues in the region," the Times of Israel suggested.
