---
title: "President Trump Saluted A North Korean General And The Media Lost Their Minds"
date: "2018-06-14"
modified: "2018-06-14"
authors:
  - name: "Adam Weinstein"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/adamweinstein/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/trump-salute-north-korea-general/"
categories:
  - "Analysis"
  - "Around the World"
  - "Korea"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "donald trump"
  - "indo-pacific command"
  - "kim jong un"
  - "the white house"
---

# President Trump Saluted A North Korean General And The Media Lost Their Minds

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/18988857-1.png>)

It's time we faced an honest, perhaps unpleasant truth: All presidents look silly when they salute.

All. Presidents.

https://www.instagram.com/p/tS2r-hwina

Public domain

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/image-placeholder-title-242.jpg>)

Public domain

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/image-placeholder-title-243.jpg>)

So let's not judge President Donald Trump too harshly for doing what apparently came naturally when a uniformed, covered North Korean officer saluted the U.S. president, as shown in the communist state-run media's video at the top of this post, 55 seconds in: He saluted back.

GIF by Brad Howard/Task & Purpose

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/image-placeholder-title-49.gif>)

Is it an international incident? Is the president of the United States kowtowing to tyrants?

Please. It's not like he joined a religious cabal of foreign oil oligarchs in a bizarre mystical ritual of alliance involving a glowing orb or something. Just be glad his salute is decent. His superfluous, uncovered, not-in-uniform-but-I-run-things-so-hey-let's-give-it-a-whirl, entirely presidential salute.

Related: Sorry, The Presidential Salute Isn’t A Real Thing »