It only took a few seconds for what was meant to be a staid White House affair to become the political video of the day. As the US president fumbled with the fastening on retired Army Major Dockery’s medal and then laced it up by hand, the rest of the solemnity of the occasion was left in the dust.
Viral mix-up overshadows solemn honour
Before you knew it, a standard presentation was all over the internet. You didn’t have to look hard to find the two or three clips making the rounds of Trump at work with the clasp, giving up on it, and making a knot out of the ribbon.
The reason it got so much play is that it put the presenter front and centre, where the honourees should have been. By nightfall, social media was full of commentary and the story of the ceremony had been re-written.
How the moment unfolded
Trump went behind Dockery in the East Room to put the Medal of Honor on him. He made a move to lock the clasp, but after a while he changed his mind. “I’m gonna do it a little differently, I’m gonna do it even nicer,” he said.
He tied it off and put in, “Now that’s not coming off now,” which got a good laugh from the room – you had top brass and other guests in there. Then he spun Dockery around for the cameras.
Reaction splits online and in the room
Once the clip was out, it was a free-for-all. There were memes, some barbs and more than a few people calling it a national embarrassment or wondering about the president’s composure at a military function.
His side of the aisle would have it that those clasps are a pain to deal with, particularly with the lights in your face and being on live TV. Some put it down to an unscripted solution to an unscripted problem.
Here is what you were hearing in the wake of it:
– The critics: an embarrassing display
– The supporters: they’re fiddly things
– The viral evidence: he did tie it
Why Major Dockery was being honoured
Put the internet aside and the citation is for what officials would call some remarkable courage in Afghanistan. Back in October 2012, as a platoon leader in Kapisa Province, Dockery and his men were ambushed by a host of Taliban.
“The enemy unleashed overwhelming torrents of fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades,” Trump noted. For close to four hours, Dockery put himself in harm’s way, reorganising his unit and tending to the injured.
When he found out one of his was missing, he went into the line of fire to make sure of it. He came across two of the enemy with a sergeant, and when the man wasn’t breathing, he put his hands to work and brought him back. After that, he was up on a roof to call in support.
Beyond one clip: what else happened
The show went on, of course. Trump also gave the Medal of Honor to a Vietnam vet, Major James Capers Jr, and to the family of the late Marine Colonel John W Ripley.
In the room, the mirth died down as we got back to the citations and the salutes. Out there, the knot was the thing everyone was talking about.
What it means for future ceremonies
It’s a reminder that in this day and age, a small break in protocol can take over the room. When you have video setting the tone, a clasp can change the subject in no time.
For the ones getting the award, it’s about the sacrifice. For the ones running the show, you can bet they’ll be looking to fine-tune things so the next time around, the focus is on the medal and not how you put it on.
