The New York Post’s Sunday feature on Zohran Mamdani, which talked about the democratic candidate’s failed attempt to bench press 135 pounds without help on Men’s Day celebrations in Brooklyn, quickly became the talk of the town for Mamdani’s competitors, republicans and MAGA supporters. 

The article posted on X attracted the attention of many Americans, including that of  Auron MacIntyre, the host and columnist for the US-based media platform, The Blaze, who reacted to the post, saying, “there’s a reason these countries were often conquered by like 200 guys”. 

Many netizens on the platform speculated that MacIntyre refers to countries from the Global South, such as India and Pakistan, with which Mamdani is often affiliated. It was this tweet from MacIntyre that prompted a very controversial comment from a software engineer, where he said that 1000 US Marines could take India. This sentence sparked a fury of reactions from netizens focused on responding to this statement with the best zinger. 

How did netizens react?

The tweet soon became the subject of mass debate online as netizens responded to the software engineer’s comment with endless sarcastic quips and jibes that reflected on the US Marines’ failures in Afghanistan and Vietnam. The debate further added to the post’s popularity, as by Wednesday, the tweet had accumulated 4 million views.

As the virality of the tweet spread, users attached a BBC article to the thread, which talked about how 2,709,918 Americans couldn’t take’ Vietnam during the prolonged US-Vietnam War.  

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Whilst US citizens tried to defend the comment of the American software engineer, Indian users had a field day coming up with jibes against what they referred to as a ‘pretentious and unrealistic’ comment. Numerous netizens recommended that the software engineer first worry about their own country’s economic troubles, citing the US’s massive foreign debt. 

“32 trillion dollar debt, print dollars at your will, corona time-15 trillion dollars printed, it’s a dream for almost every country. In 10 years, debt would mount to 45T & GDP is screwed. First, take care of our economy,” a self-proclaimed Indian debater posted on X. 

Multiple users also insinuated that the US military’s successes are often overglorified by Western media, implying that their military forces are not as superior as they are presented. Jumping on this spirit of ‘digital patriotism’, many Indians wrote about how the Indian Military’s Gorkha regiment and Para commanders can easily dominate a military confrontation with 1000 US Marines. 

“2.5 million could not take out half of Vietnam, and the same number with more than 1000 tanks, 500 Apache helicopters and naval support could not defeat a handful of Afghans. You just do it in Rambo,” another user posted on X.

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 A brief history of the US Marine Corps

First established in 1775, the US Marine Corps was commissioned to serve as landing troops for the US Continental Navy. While often affiliated with military pride in the US, the Marine Corps, like any other branch of the military in this world, has its due share of controversial strategic failures. Some of these have been listed as follows: 

Afghanistan (2001-2021): Marines’ Involvement in Afghanistan was part of a long and ultimately unsuccessful effort. Despite tactical gains in areas like Helmand province, the U.S. withdrawal and the rapid collapse of the Afghan government in 2021 highlighted a broader strategic failure. A lack of clear objectives and long-term vision meant that even effective Marine combat operations could not secure a sustainable victory.

Vietnam (1955-1975): The Corps’s counter-insurgency tactics were often criticised during their stint in Vietnam. Multiple experts argued that large-scale search-and-destroy operations were not effective against a determined guerrilla force and alienated the local population, which ultimately resulted in the American side’s loss in the war.