'Normal,' says White House after dispute over Marines' presence at Biden speech

Democrats and Republicans alike slammed President Joe Biden on Friday for using two US Marines as what has been called a political maneuver in his "Soul of the Nation" speech Thursday night, while the White House defended the move.

"We need to make sure that our military is as removed from politics as possible," said former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Allison Jaslow in an interview with CNN.

"It's not right if a Democrat uses the military as a political pawn and it's not right if the Republican Party does it as well," she added. "None of our politicians or elected leaders should do that."

During what amounted to an anti-MAGA (Make America Great Again) speech criticizing former president Donald Trump and his base, Biden was flanked by two US Marines as he warned Americans that Trump and his Republican followers represent "an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic."