Liberal journalists assumed a Tuesday tweet from U.S. Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller was a subtle diss at President Donald Trump, and implied that the military might be disavowing its commander in chief.

Neller was actually referring to reports of a former Marine who led a white supremacist group in the so-called “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, The Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed.

“No place for racial hatred or extremism in @ USMC. Our core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment frame the way Marines live and act,” Neller tweeted.

Several journalists were quick to point out that Neller’s tweet came after Trump avoided placing blame for Saturday’s violence in Charlottesville, Va., solely on alt-right and neo-Nazi groups. They implied Neller was speaking out against the president’s position towards white supremacists.

Remarkably blunt rejoinder to the president from the commander of the @USMC https://t.co/ibe4W2l43s — Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) August 15, 2017

“We seem to be slouching toward a sedevacantist presidency,” meaning a presidency that is not respected, Talking Points Memo editor and publisher Josh Marshall tweeted. Sedevacantist refers to the position held by some Roman Catholics that there has not been a legitimate pope in the Holy See since Pope Pius XII died in 1958.

We seem to be slouching toward a sedevacantist presidency. https://t.co/2rnLEwAwrv — Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 15, 2017

“Yes, but it’s only an interim solution. Not sustainable because American system needs a president.” New Republic senior editor Jeet Heer replied to Marshall.

Yes, but it’s only an interim solution. Not sustainable because American system needs a president. — Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) August 15, 2017

“[Neller’s] remarks were in response to reporting of a former Marine linked to a hate group,” a spokesman for Neller told TheDCNF in a statement.

The Marine Corps Times reported Tuesday that former Marine recruiter Dillon Ulysses Hopper led the white supremacist group Vanguard America in the protests at Charlottesville.

Hopper served in the Marines from July 2006 to Jan. 30, 2017, and may have violated corps rules by joining a hate group while still active in the service.

Hopper said he did not at attend the Charlottesville march, Marine vet and Anti-Defamation League investigator Carla Hill told Marine Corps Times. Hopper attended an April 29 white supremacists in Kentucky, where Hopper claimed to have led Vanguard America for more than a year, according to Hill.

“Association or participation with hate or extremist groups of any kind is directly contradictory to the core values of honor, courage and commitment that we stand for as Marines and isn’t tolerated by the Marine Corps,” Maj. Garron Garn, spokesman for the Marines’ Manpower & Reserve Affairs, told Marine Corps Times.

Other verified Twitter users continued to tweet in belief the leader of the Marines called out Trump for his Charlottesville stance.

Marines publicly distancing themselves from their commander-in-chief. This is a new thing. https://t.co/zQnWjL45FS — Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) August 15, 2017

Unusual and heartening. Marines publicly distancing themselves from the “commander-in-chief” https://t.co/XXrofgcdTl — Idrees Ahmad (@im_PULSE) August 15, 2017

Commandant of the Marine Corps Breaks With Trump And Denounces His Support For Racism https://t.co/ZYdnuxD9sr pic.twitter.com/uY3jpOgSYK — Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 16, 2017

Did the commandant of the Marines just subtweet the president? https://t.co/bSMFnmKU48 — Bryan Flaherty (@SwimSider) August 15, 2017

When you’ve lost the Marines, you’ve lost America. https://t.co/92jbiG3m5o — Hugh Riminton (@hughriminton) August 16, 2017

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