Twitter account shared a silhouette of a soldier saluting in front of a Pride flag.The military department posted the image on social media on June 6 to recognize Pride month and to state that the Air Force "proudly recognizes and celebrates generations of LGBTQI+ service members and their contributions to our Air Force & Space Force."The message has met with critical response from conservative and Republican figures, with many taking issue with the suggestion that a uniformed member of U.S.
military personnel is saluting something that is not the American flag.Benny Johnson, a conservative political commentator and chief creative officer for student group Turning Point USA, referred to the Pride movement as a cult and tweeted that the post was "actively disgracing our military." Johnson has more than 1.5 million users on Twitter.South Carolina Republican congressman Ralph Norman tweeted while sharing the Air Force's post: "The only colors American military ought to salute are Red, White, and Blue."Colorado rep.
Lauren Boebert wrote: "We salute one flag and one flag only in the United States of America. It isn't the 'Pride' flag."Conservative talk-show host Joe Pagliarulo asked "wtf is this garbage?" while replying to the Air Force's tweet."My father was in the Air Force and was proud of it until the day he died," he wrote. "He's be sickened to see a meme depicting an Air Force member saluting with an ideological flag prominent.
What on God's green Earth is WRONG with you?Air Force veteran Mike Garcia called the post "pathetic & embarrassing," adding: "You should focus on winning wars & not social or political issues.