The Marine Holding Obama’s Umbrella

The scene immortalized by photographers is beautiful: There is the Marine in full uniform, decorated with two medallions, focused on holding Obama’s umbrella. The president looks to the sky, grimaces, and it appears as if he wants to push the umbrella away.

This incident, which began on Friday in front of the White House Rose Garden, has quickly become an Internet polemic. Did Obama have the authority to order a Marine to carry his umbrella? Could not he have carried it himself or delegated it to someone on his staff? It is understood that the president is the commander in chief and that every soldier must obey his orders, but could they not have prepared a canopy or something like that? Or could not have they foreseen the rain and moved the discussion between Obama and Turkish President Recep Erdoğan indoors? It is strange, considering that the topic — really — is not vitally important, but in the U.S., they are even calling it “Umbrellagate.”

The U.S. Marine Corps has clarified that Obama, in his capacity as commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces, can give any type of order to a Marine, provided it does not violate the law or the Constitution. A ridiculous request is not an exception or an excuse to refuse a presidential order. Sarah Palin commented very harshly on Facebook, “Mr. President, when it rains it pours, but most Americans hold their own umbrellas.” She forgot or pretends not to remember that she also sought shelter.

In the meantime, the satire continues endlessly. In the past Obama has demonstrated more than once that he does not fear the rain. Several photos have shown him literally soaking in water while talking to citizens during one of his many campaign stops. There were also other times. However, if you think about the joke that Obama used to justify the order, you will realize it was extraordinary: Realizing that he might receive criticism for seeking shelter from the rain from the military, before moving under umbrella, the president said, “I’ve got a change of suits, but I don’t know about our prime minister.”