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Memes claiming that former President Ronald Reagan continued his golf vacation after nearly 300 people were killed in an attack in Beirut in 1983 are frequently circulated on Facebook: The above-displayed memes have been circulating for several years, but they regained popularity in March 2016 as President Obama was criticized for remaining in Cuba (where he was making a state visit) after 31 people were killed during terrorist bombings in Brussels, Belgium. While these images correctly reflect that Ronald Reagan was on vacation when a suicide bomber crashed a truck full of explosives into an airport building that was being used as barracks for U.S. Marines in Beirut, Lebanon, on 23 October 1983 (killing 241 American servicemen), the former president did not continue his golf vacation after receiving the news. The first image showing Reagan on the golf course was taken the day before the bombing, not the day after: An article published by the New York Times the day after the attack also noted that Reagan cut his vacation short to return to the White House: The second photo displayed above was also taken the day before the Beirut bombings: However, the former president wasn't always necessarily quick to react after deadly international incidents. After a Korean airliner was shot down by the Soviet Union on 1 September 1983, President Reagan remained at his ranch in Santa Barbara: These memes are based on an assumption that a U.S. president has to react immediately to breaking news of a violent incident or crisis by returning to the nation's capital, even when such an action does not facilitate the handling of the situation. When President Obama was criticized in 2014 for his reaction to Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 being shot down (reportedly by pro-Russian insurgents), reporter Chris Wallace noted that sometimes, the best thing presidents can do is nothing:
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