Mass outrage on the left ensued after photos emerged of United States sailors aboard the USS Wasp wearing “Make Aircrew Great Again” patches with President Trump’s likeness on them.
The images were first reported by White House reporters traveling with the president on his trip to Japan, where he stopped at a U.S. military base in Yokosuka:
Airmen onboard the USS WASP wearing patches on their jumpsuits that read “Make Aircrew Great Again.” The patches include an image in the center in the likeness of President Trump. pic.twitter.com/rQKAyrcDte
— Vivian Salama (@vmsalama) May 28, 2019
Some of the sailors aboard the WASP where Trump is now speaking are wearing this patch pic.twitter.com/07LZojqnYH
— Noah Bierman (@Noahbierman) May 28, 2019
After the photos surfaced online, leftist commentators and pundits began calling for the airmen to be punished, claiming they had violated the U.S. Military Code of Justice (UMCJ) for engaging in political activity while in uniform.
One man who calls himself a “liberal provocateur” tried to alert their commander:
Dear Sirs. @USSWaspLHD1 your sailors/airmen are in clear violation of UCMJ bringing disgrace to the Wasp and the US Navy. Who ordered this? Who paid for it? What say you? pic.twitter.com/xFA8gIecBn
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) May 28, 2019
He had also called them wearing the patch “fascism,” and asked if they had “armbands, too”:
This is Fascism and a clear violation of the UCMJ. Do they have armbands, too? Who ordered this? https://t.co/OFRJoEeBjH
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) May 28, 2019
Another leftist dug up photos to confirm whether the patches were actually real, and found they have been worn since at least September 2017:
I had to check to make sure this was real. Verdict: Yes, these airmen really are wearing patches that say “Make Aircrew Great Again” with an image depicting Trump in the center.
(DoD tweeted a pic of the same patch in Sept 2017; Stars & Stripes posted a pic of it in July 2018). pic.twitter.com/vxDJmi6Ijp
— Caroline Orr (@RVAwonk) May 28, 2019
One professor worried that the military was not loyal to civilian control and the Constitution, and was now “part of a presidential personality cult”:
I defer to my colleagues who study civilian/military relations, but I find this worrisome – the military must be loyal to civilian control and the Constitution, not part of a presidential personality cult https://t.co/AgDwtKXT3x
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) May 28, 2019
Leftists were similarly outraged when Trump visited a U.S. base in Iraq last year for Christmas. Several troops had “Make America Great Again” hats, which drew claims they had violated UMCJ again. Some speculated that Trump’s staff had brought the hats with them and distributed them.
Trump flag (she dropped it after she saw me taking a photo) pic.twitter.com/LhPwUNdEK3
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) December 27, 2018
The U.S. Air Force later said the airmen were not in violation of the UMCJ. “There is no rule against Airmen bringing personal items to be signed by the president,” U.S. Air Forces Europe said in a statement.
There have been other shows of support for Trump from the military that have not garnered as much attention. In January, Trump was greeted by a standing ovation at the Pentagon, and an attendee waving a MAGA hat. One source said the attendee was a female in a military uniform.
Folks at the Pentagon gave @realDonaldTrump a standing ovation and also two more applauses. Also heard some whoops. pic.twitter.com/PyAI0D9OsF
— Kristina Wong ?? (@kristina_wong) January 18, 2019
Kristina Wong is Breitbart News’ Pentagon correspondent. Follow her at @kristina_wong. Reach her at kristinawong@protonmail.com.
