The U.S. Marines Twitter account responded to a story from the Hill that reported Marine One’s flight over President Trump’s supporters at one of his campaign rallies raised “ethics questions.”
“Trump campaign event use of Marine Corps helicopter to hover over crowd of supporters raises ethics questions,” the Hill tweeted, accompanied by a link to an article titled, “Trump campaign event use of Marine Corps helicopter raises ethics questions.”
“The flight did not fly over (or hover over) the assembled crowd. The entire flight was conducted in accordance with @USNavy and Marine Corps regulations, operating procedures and safety protocols. Marine One landed a safe distance from the crowd,” the Marines’s account tweeted in response to the Hill.
The flight did not fly over (or hover over) the assembled crowd. The entire flight was conducted in accordance with @USNavy and Marine Corps regulations, operating procedures and safety protocols. Marine One landed a safe distance from the crowd.
— U.S. Marines (@USMC) October 29, 2020
“President Trump’s reelection campaign appeared to use a Marine Corps helicopter to hover over a large crowd of cheering supporters, raising questions about the ethics of using the military aircraft for such purposes,” Hill reporter Ellen Mitchell wrote in the linked article.
“The video raises questions about the ethics of the Pentagon’s role in the event,” the article continued.
It added: “Department of Defense (DOD) policy prohibits military members from participating in campaign activities such as volunteering for a candidate, attending a rally or appearing in materials while in uniform, though they are allowed to do so off duty.”
Trump tweeted a video of the flyover Wednesday, with a separate video below it comparing the scene to a rally of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2020
The video shows the Marine One helicopter, which is used to transport the president and senior administration officials, landing near the rally as supporters cheered at the president’s arrival. The split-screen video shows Biden walking up to a smaller campaign event where circles were drawn to ensure social distancing for attendees.
Capt. Joseph Butterfield, a Marine Corps spokesman, also denied the aircraft hovered over the crowd.
“Marine One landed a safe distance from the crowd, which the camera angle in the video … does not appear to fully capture,” Butterfield told the Hill.
Butterfield added that there would be no review or investigation into the matter.
