The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Remembering Obama's "Latte Salute" 6 Years Later

Episode Date: September 24, 2020

With the help of historian Douglas Brinkley, this "Slow Burn" parody unpacks Barack Obama's "Latte Salute" in painstaking detail, 6 years later. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Most people remember where they were when President Obama saluted a marine while holding a latte. It's considered by many of America's step-uncles to be the biggest scandal in presidential history. The Daily Show Podcast Universe is proud to introduce the most definitive, most caffeinated history of Obama's latte salute from the people who lived through it. This is Slobama. Lauren Mills is a barista at the Pete's Coffee on 8th and K in Washington, D.C. In many ways, she's a typical barista.

She wears a lot of camouflage vests. She knows a weird amount about Bolivian politics. She styles her hair in dreadlocks, despite being white. Spiritly, I just feel Jamaican, you know. On September 23, 2014, Lauren got to work, and she did what she does every day. She made coffee. Medium cold brew for Ray.

A large drip with cream, an Americano with four scoops of sugar. And then, at 7.19 a.m., Lauren received an order for a latte. And though it was impossible to know it at the time, Lauren Mills was brewing a beverage that would change the course of presidential history. This is The Daily Show presents Slobama, a podcast about the latte salute, the greatest American political scandal of the 21st century. Everyone's talking about the disrespectful way the president salu. A podcast about the marine yesterday. Everyone's talking about the disrespectful salute, the greatest American political scandal of the 21st century. Everyone's talking about the disrespectful way the president saluted a marine yesterday with his latte in his hand.

Soluted two Marines after Marine One landed in New York with a cup of coffee in his hands. That's bad. The fallout from what many are calling President Obama's latte salute. This salute by Obama may serve as a useful metaphor for his entire administration. How did it feel to wake up every morning knowing the president saluted a marine with a latte? What was it like to live through that horror? Has America ever truly recovered? Episode 1 A Cup of Shame September 23, 2014 Barack Obama is halfway through his second term as president.

He flies to New York for a meeting at the United Nations, and the White House releases a video of Obama getting off the helicopter. He smiles at a small crowd, walks down the stairs, Marines salute him, Obama salutes back, a typical scene. Except, something isn't right. The White House posted this video on Instagram on Tuesday shows President Obama stepping off Marine one here in New York saluting Marines with a coffee cup in his hand.

Some are now calling this disrespectful. But how did the video reach the Today Show? One reason is Tom Stoneman. Tom is a writer for Shoutpunit, where he blogs about politics and alpha male testosterone pills. Tom is your typical conservative blogger. He's 5' 7, lives in a bomb shelter and has never eaten a vegetable. I always kept an eye on President Baroxa Dam Hussein,

O bungler, the man was corrupt and he was also, this is based on my own reporting, born a lady. Obama's two terms in office had already been defined by scandal. You probably remember the big ones. He used gray pupon instead of regular mustard. I hope you enjoyed that fancy burger, Mr. President. He wore a tan suit to a press briefing. President Obama's decision to wear a light tan suit

at yesterday's news conference. He droned a wedding. A US drone strike in Yemen that missed its target. He even used a selfie stick in the White House. Here's the leader of the free world world. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, the toe, thoom. toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, the toe, toe, to toe, toe, toe, toe, the toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th.. ta, the.e. the the ta.e.e. ta.e.e.e.e. ta.e.e.e.e. ta.e.e. ta. ta.e. the leader of the free world, the guy we trust with the button for the nukes, acting like a 12-year-old. The scandals kept piling up, and there were steady calls for impeachment from Americans with AOL email addresses,

which is why internet sleuths like Stoneman were on high alert for more missteps. He saluted that Marine with a coffee the American flag and wiped his butt with the Constitution. Stoneman and many other conservatives on the internet were incensed. The video was soon posted at all the major right-wing blocks. Patriot streak, Brain Power America News, red anger rising, storm surge, the angry churchwife, angry man's angry blog, Angrenness today,the Anger Report with Dr. Mike Angry.

The right-wing radio host Mark Levin included a segment about the latte salute during his afternoon show. It's about damn time, almost six years in office, that you show our men and women in military some respect, which you do not. And when you get off that damn helicopter, you salute. And you salute with respect. A nice, crisp, right-hand salute. Got it? Now here's something you have to understand about America in 2014. This was a different time, a different place, a different country. There were only six fast in the Furious movies.

Donald Trump wasn't yet the Commander-in-Chief. He was still a loudmouth businessman with a reality show where he pretended to fire MC Hammer. So there was no telling whether this story would break into the mainstream. And then... This is a Fox News alert. I'm Chris Wallace. Buckley Churn. His father is a GO News alert. I'm Chris Wallace. Buckley Churnsworth is your typical Fox News intern.

His father is a GOP mega donor and his mother is not allowed to talk at parties. In September 2014, he was a seventh year sophomore at Dartmouth. He was taking off the fall semester due to a drunken disorderly charge at a Panera Bread and found an internship at Fox News. He remembers stumbling on Tom Stoneman's blog post. We caught up with Buckley at his favorite New York City bar, McChuggers. Yeah, so I was reading an article on Epic Bro-Bro-Moves. And an ad caught my eye. It was a link to a shout-punded story.

I'll never forget the headline. Unbelievable. Brocbo Boner does it again, giving Muslim salute while carrying a cup of Indonesian coffee. I immediately told my boss, or I told someone, I don't know, it's pretty coked up that day. And suddenly, the scandal was on. A Marine manual states do not salute, quote, when carrying articles with both hands or being otherwise so occupied as to make saluting impractical. Floppy, ill-thought-out, inappropriate, callous, selfish, and disrespectful.

His heart wasn't it. After all, we got a chai swilling,, golf-playing, basketball, trash-talking, leading from behind. I got no strategy. Osama bin Laden is dead. GM is alive. A community organizing commander-in-chief. How disrespectful was that? There are a lot of drinks you can order at a coffee shop. Late, espresso, Americano, machiato.

But what Barack Obama received? That was a large steaming problemo. After the break, President Obama faces the biggest White House scandal since William Howard Taft got stuck in a bathtub. too. Hey everyone, if you're enjoying SlowBama, consider subscribing to Slow Bama Plus. For just $9.99 a month, you'll get exclusive access to extra features, like a bonus four-hour interview with a dry cleaner who pressed Barack Obama's tan suit. We've also got hmm-free podcasts, where we've removed all of the hmms, Oz and Uzz

from all our episodes. And for Slowbama Plus subscribers, the answer to this week's trivia question was once again Leon Panetta. And now, back to the podcast. Do you remember where you were when you first heard about the latte salute? For many Americans, it's like the moon landing, except the latte salute actually happened, and people were angry? the today's salu. the ta salut. the l'oeuvre to be burned by.

America had already been burned by the series finale of Lost, and now the hope and change president was saluting Marines with coffee? We know that anger on the right was high, but what about the left? I was on that helicopter with the president. My failure to stop him from saluting that marine with a latte is my single greatest regret. Not just of the Obama presidency, but of my entire life. John Favreau is, in many ways, your typical former aid to Barack Obama. He hosts a hit podcast, he sends 130 tweets per day, and he is unable to make eye contact for more than

three seconds without looking at his phone. And even now, five years later, he can't stop thinking about the latte salute. Sometimes late at night, I hear a voice whispering in the wind. Latay salute. Lattay salute. It's my rosebud. It's my white whale. It's whatever Tim Burton sees in Johnny Depp. An obsession. Looking back, it's hard to believe that Barack Obama would salute a marine with a latte. But remember, this was 2014.

All right, time now for the ice bucket challenge. And a lot of things we enjoyed in 2014 seem ridiculous today. Like the Walking Dead, or Maclamore. But another thing that's hard to believe is something John brought up, that no one on the helicopter stopped the president. And it made us wonder, was it really possible for John or anyone else on the plane to stop the latte salute?

To find out, we rented a helicopter with the exact dimensions and configuration of Marine One and ran a little experiment. Okay, so I'm here with my producer in the helicopter and what are we doing? We're going to find out if someone could have stopped the latte salute. Okay, so I'm seated where President Obama would have sat. Okay, so I'm seated where President Obama would have sat. I am holding a latte that we got from... Care of a coffee. Right. Okay. Okay stopped the latte salute. Okay, so I'm seated where President Obama would have sat. I am holding a latte that we got from... A pair of a coffee. Right, okay, the helicopter door has opened.

I am walking down the stairs, lifting my hand... Mr. President, don't salute a Marine with a latte! Okay, so, what do we think? I don't think it was possible to stop it. Back in the studio, we called John Favreau. Hello? John, it's Matt from Slobama. We just got back from the airfield. And? We determined, pretty conclusively, that no one would have been able to stop the latte salute.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank, pretty conclusively, that no one would have been able to stop the latte salute. Thank you. Thank you so much. You know, President Trump might be thin-skinned, semi-literate, adulteress, and a serial tax cheat, but at least he's never had a scandal as bad as holding a cup while saluiting a marine. And to know that I couldn't have prevented that salute, I mean, I thue. thue. thue. thue. thuuuuuuuuuuuu that I that I that I thu thu thu thu thu that I thu thu-a thu-a thu-a that I than than than than than than than than than than than than than than than than than than thu-a-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n't thu-n't thu-n't thu-a thu-a than, than, than, than than than. Thank th real friend of the pod. Thanks, John. Sure thing. And hey, you didn't really rent a helicopter and recreate this thing, did you? Um, what do you mean? I mean, this is just a joke, right?

I wasn't actually in the plane with Obama. I left the White House a year before this whole thing. Clearly, the trauma from the Late salute salute had left John Favreau confused. After all, this was a confusing time in American history. I'm on the phone still. Remember, for both the left and the right, it was hard to put this in context. There's plenty more ahead after this short break. I'm still on the line. Slobama is sponsored by Wee Undes. We Undies is the first ever community underwear sharing program. Ever wonder what it's like to walk a mile in someone else's skivies?

We Undies sends you another member's underwear along with a photo and brief biography of the owner. Simply wear their underwear and then send them back when you feel like you've gotten your fill. If you're like me, you probably still have a ton of questions about the latte salute. For example, what drove President Obama to salute with a latte? Did President Obama ever salute a Marine while holding another food or beverage, like a bottle of snapple, or a turkey leg? Has President Obama ever been to the Renaissance Fair?

But mostly, I think about that Marine. Imagine you enlist for the U.S. Marine Corps. You train, you do your push-ups, shave your head. You run laps while shouting about how butch you are. And then, during the defining moment of your military career, greeting the presidential helicopter, you get saluted with a latte. We tracked down the Marine that President Obama saluted. His name is Lieutenant Chris Wheel, and he retired from the Corps in 2017.

He agreed to sit down with me, and, in an emotional conversation, we talked about how it felt to be on the receiving end of the Lattayteeeeeee the lattee the lattee the lattee the late the late the the late the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. the. to sit down with me and, in an emotional conversation, we talked about how it felt to be on the receiving end of the latte salute. Lieutenant Wheel, I know this must be very difficult for you. Not really. If you ever need to stop, if the pain becomes too great, please just tell me. I really doubt it. So, how did it feel to get saluted with a latte? I told you on the phone.

It was fine. Wasn't that big a deal. But in another sense, it wasn't fine. And it was an enormous deal. And it didn't seem like America knew how to cope with such an offense. It wasn't like George W. Bush had ever made a mistake with the U.S. military. But in fact, the United States had faced a remarkably similar situation a century before. Here's presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.

Well, you know, a lot of people forget this, but actually President Chester A. Arthur got into some salute-based trouble of his own. Back in 1883, Arthur was on a whistle-stop tour. And one of those stops, President Arthur saluted some major general while he was holding a bottle of root beer, which, of course, back in those days days was made a pure, uncut Mexican cocaine. And the scandal became known in the newspapers as Chester's Cheese Up.

You couldn't open a newspaper without reading about Chester's Cheese Up. Well the backlasteaded a scandal was so ferocious that Chester Arthur was forced to find a fall guy. So he fired his secretary of locomotive affairs and then ended up selling him to the Prussian Empire. Wow. And you're a real historian? Yes, I am.

Incredible. A real historian with a real story. Well, no, no, no. This isn't real. I thought we were doing a joke. Obviously, this never happened. As reporters, we're obliged to consider every side of a story. If there's a football game, you talk to the home team and the visitors.

If there's a vote on a bill, you talk to Democrats and Republicans. If a woman is accused of being possessed by the devil, you talk to her accuser and to Satan by summoning the Prince of Darkness in a blood sacrifice. That's journalism. And so we knew that before this was over, we had to talk to the latte saluter in chief himself, Barack Obama. Because, and this is weird, Obama has never actually talked about the latte salute. Here's the President's press secretary in 2014 right as the latte salute scandal

was escalating. The President's latte salute or coffee salute when he was getting off of Marine one saluting the Marine with the cup of coffee. Have you been asked to respond to this or is the president aware of the country this year? I don't know if he's. I haven't talked to him about it. After five years, had no one really talked to President Obama about it? So I did what any podcast journalist would do. I requested an interview with Barack Obama. And his spokesman granted the request on the condition that I'd not ask about the latte salute. I was told'd not ask about the latte salute.

I was told Obama would talk about literally any subject, his marriage, what it was like to be born in Kenya, any subject at all, except the latte salute. I declined to the interview. Frankly, I told a spokesman, that's some weak tea. Or should I say, a week, lot tea. Or should I say, a week lot tea? I have been reporting this story for five years straight. In that time, I have lived and breathed the latte salute. I see it when I close my eyes. I think about it when I drift off to sleep. I tend to talk about it all the time, and that tendency has frayed my relationship with the people closest to me, with my friends, with my wife, with my wife's divorce lawyer, with

my wife's new boyfriend Dave. But in the end, America needs this story. Because the latte salute is the story of America. Think about it. A scandal that nearly brought down a president started with a humble cup of coffee. And so I knew that I had to go back and talk to Lauren Mills, the barista who made that fateful latte. I've got a small latte for Matt.

Oh God. Hello, Lauren. Not again. Lauren, I just have one question. How does it feel to have made the coffee that kicked off our nation's greatest presidential sandl. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. think. think. think. think. think. think. think. think. think. think. think. thi. think. think. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. Think. th. th. Think. th. Think. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. does it feel to have made the coffee that kicked off our nation's greatest presidential scandal? Greatest scandal? What about Chester's cheese up? And didn't Andrew Jackson like commit genocide? The latte salute, Lauren.

Late salute! I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Are you drooling right now? The word scandal is derived from the Greek word scondolone, which means stumbling block. But what is a stumbling block? And then, there's this wrinkle. How do we even know that the liquid in his cup was a latte? What if President Obama was drinking something else entirely? Did we get the latte salute entirely wrong?

That's next week, onundit and the angry report with Dr. Mike Angri. The show's music is composed by Dave, my wife's boyfriend. Thanks, Dave. If. This has been a comedy central podcast. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News.

Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17.