(Image: PBS)
During a portion of his final State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama might not have gotten quite the reaction he wanted out of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In his speech, Obama claimed:
“I told you earlier all the talk of America’s economic decline is political hot air. Well, so is all the rhetoric you hear about our enemies getting stronger and America getting weaker. Let me tell you something — the United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. It’s not even close.”
But while the president was speaking, C-SPAN's cameras broke to a shot of the Joint Chiefs, who were not applauding with most of the audience. In fact, all seven of the Joint Chiefs pictured did not even seem to flinch.
“Our troops are the finest fighting force in the history of the world,” Obama proclaimed. “No nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know that’s the path to ruin. Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office."
Obama said this on the very same day that 10 U.S. Navy soldiers were being held by Iran after their boat drifted in the Persian Gulf.