Air Force General’s Refusal of Trump Salute Sparks Viral Uproar and White House Scrutiny

By Helene Cooper and C.J. Chivers The New York Times November 23, 2025

WASHINGTON — A senior Air Force commander’s public refusal to salute President Trump during a Pentagon ceremony on Friday ignited a firestorm of online outrage and prompted urgent damage-control efforts within the administration, as the incident — captured on video and shared millions of times — exposed simmering tensions over military protocol and loyalty in Mr. Trump’s second term.

The confrontation unfolded at the National Defense University in Fort McNair, during a routine change-of-command ceremony for the Air Force’s top acquisition official. Gen. David Allvin, the four-star chief of staff of the Air Force, was presiding when Mr. Trump, as commander in chief, extended his hand for a salute from Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, a retired three-star general and the event’s keynote speaker who had been recalled for the occasion. General Deptula, 67, instead offered a firm handshake, his expression impassive, and said audibly into the microphone: “Mr. President, with respect, I served my country under oath to the Constitution, not to any individual. My salute is reserved for the flag and the office it represents.”

The room, filled with several hundred officers, cadets and dignitaries, fell silent for a beat before murmurs rippled through the crowd. Mr. Trump, visibly taken aback, withdrew his hand and quipped, “Well, that’s a new one — I guess the Constitution doesn’t do high-fives,” drawing scattered laughter from the front rows. The moment, recorded by multiple attendees and quickly uploaded to social media, has since amassed over 12 million views on X and TikTok, trending under #DeptulaDefiesTrump and #SaluteTheFlag.

The White House responded within hours, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt issuing a statement calling the general’s actions “deeply disrespectful to the commander in chief and the men and women in uniform who serve under his leadership.” Behind closed doors, aides described a scene of “scrambling panic,” with Mr. Trump dictating a series of Truth Social posts from the Oval Office, labeling General Deptula a “disloyal has-been” and demanding the Pentagon investigate “anti-Trump elements in the ranks.” By evening, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered a review of the general’s security clearance and past assignments, sources familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.

General Deptula, a decorated Vietnam-era veteran and former fighter pilot who commanded operations in the Balkans and Iraq, has long been a vocal critic of what he calls “politicization of the military.” In a 2024 op-ed for War on the Rocks, he warned against “eroding the apolitical tradition of the armed forces,” a veiled reference to Mr. Trump’s first-term firings of generals like Mark A. Milley and James Mattis. Recalled from retirement for the ceremony as a symbolic nod to Air Force heritage, the general’s gesture — rooted in military etiquette where salutes are technically optional between officers but customary for the president — was interpreted by supporters as a principled stand and by critics as outright insubordination.

MAGA circles erupted in real time. On X, influencers like @JackPosobiec decried it as “a deep-state mutiny,” posting side-by-side clips of the incident with Mr. Trump’s 2020 Lafayette Square photo-op, where he was accused of using troops against protesters. “This is why we need loyalty oaths in the ranks — Deptula’s a traitor in uniform!” one viral post read, garnering 150,000 likes. Steve Bannon, on his War Room podcast, called for the general’s immediate court-martial, thundering: “The military isn’t a democracy — it’s a chain of command, and Trump’s the unbreakable link.” The backlash extended to Capitol Hill, where Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene demanded a House Armed Services Committee hearing, tweeting: “If a general won’t salute the president, how can we trust him with our sons and daughters?”

Democrats, by contrast, rallied to General Deptula’s defense. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the review “retaliatory nonsense,” warning on the Senate floor that it “threatens the nonpartisan ethos of our military.” Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, told MSNBC: “This is Trump testing the limits of civilian control — again. Deptula saluted the Constitution, not the man, and that’s exactly what our founders intended.” The incident has amplified concerns over Mr. Trump’s military purges: Since January, he has replaced over 20 flag officers, including the firing of Gen. C.Q. Brown as Joint Chiefs chairman in February, citing “insufficient loyalty.”

Pentagon officials, speaking anonymously, described the fallout as a “chain-of-command crisis.” General Allvin, who did not intervene during the ceremony, issued a statement Friday afternoon emphasizing “respect for the office of the president” while praising General Deptula’s “decades of honorable service.” Behind the scenes, Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady convened an emergency call with service secretaries to reaffirm protocols, sources said, amid fears of copycat gestures at upcoming Veterans Day events.

The viral video has spawned a meme ecosystem: Slow-motion edits of General Deptula’s handshake set to “Eye of the Tiger,” with captions like “When the Constitution calls — you answer.” Late-night hosts pounced: Jimmy Kimmel replayed the clip, quipping: “Trump wanted a salute, but got a reality check. Next time, maybe try saluting the flag first.” Stephen Colbert staged a mock “Salute School” skit, with Mr. Trump as the hapless student.

For Mr. Trump, whose approval ratings sit at 39 percent amid the government shutdown and Epstein files scrutiny, the episode risks portraying him as thin-skinned and the military as fractious. Aides are reportedly modeling a response: a prime-time address framing the incident as “woke insubordination,” per two sources. Yet with midterms looming, even allies like Senator Lindsey Graham urged caution on Fox News: “We need unity in the ranks, not witch hunts.”

General Deptula, reached by phone in Virginia, declined comment beyond a brief statement: “My oath is to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That’s what I did — and what I’ll always do.” As Washington scrambles and MAGA melts down, his words hang heavy: a reminder that in the chain of command, the Constitution remains supreme — even if it means no salute.