July 9, 2017

Who barged where in the G20 photograph?

Clearly (and hilariously) it was Macron:



French President Emmanuel Macron goes way out of his way, jostling past numerous world leaders to get to stand next to Donald Trump. Angela Merkel, planted in the center front row, actively reaches out to him, but he's dead set on task and makes it to the extreme right, where Donald Trump had positioned himself.

But look how Newsweek presents the same photo op: "IN G20 PHOTO, TRUMP COULDN’T SHOVE HIS WAY TO THE FRONT AND CENTER OF WORLD LEADERS." The video there shows an earlier point in the assembling on the risers, but it's easy to see that Trump makes no attempt to get to the front and center position. He steps calmly to the end position and casually speaks to a few people. He does nothing that makes it seem as though he wants to be in the center, and he certain doesn't engage in any shoving. It's Macron that actively moves through the crowd (and "shove" would be the wrong word even for what Macron is doing).

I'm imagining how Newsweek would defend itself against the charge that this is fake news: Trump didn't shove his way to the front and center, because he couldn't. He would've if he could've. Since he didn't, that means he couldn't, so we reported that he couldn't.

That's not a logical defense, of course. It contains a glaring false premise. But it might work for hardcore Trump haters, who are deranged into thinking they are seeing the deranged mind of Donald Trump. Oh, man, he so needs to be in the center of everything, him with his narcissistic personality disorder. We need to move on him with the 25th Amendment before the world explodes.

IN THE COMMENTS: Laslo Spatula writes: "Doesn't matter where trump is standing. He can drink their milkshakes from any location in the room." (Milkshake meme discussed yesterday here.)

ADDED: According to this AP report, the positions were all predetermined by rules that put all the government leaders in the front row and, within that row, arranged them by senority.
Trump wound up on one of the outer edges, between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and French President Emmanuel Macron, who has even less seniority than Trump does after being elected in May. Trump took office in January.
There is a reference to an photo op in May (among NATO leaders) in which "Trump put his right hand on the right arm of Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and thrust himself ahead as NATO leaders walked inside the alliance's new headquarters and prepared for a group photo." Newsweek didn't refer to that earlier incident, but it could have attempted to justify saying "Trump couldn't shove his way to the front." He "thrust" (shoved?) his way to the front in the past, but this time set rules eliminated the shoving option. Here's the Trump vs. Markovic video:



What do you think? Shoving? Thrusting?

Well? What did Trump do to Dusko Markovic?





pollcode.com free polls

ADDED: Poll results:

111 comments:

Kevin said...

Where was President Hillary standing?

Out in the woods. With a bottle of Chardonnay.

Danno said...

The Europeans are all about positioning, even though they are not important as compared to the U.S. or China.

brylun said...

Are they even publishing Newsweek now? I had a subscription back in the 1960's when they were to the left of Time.

Danno said...

As to the Newsweek link, it appears the author has a real bad case of TDS. Your analysis was spot on.

Curious George said...

"But it might work for hardcore Trump haters, who are deranged into thinking they are seeing the deranged mind of Donald Trump."

Might? It'll work. The latest lie is that Trump forgot to book hotel rooms in Hamburg for the G20. But it was actually the Obama administration that failed to do it for whoever won the election.

J2 said...

The far right, (geographically speaking), is where you want to be from a public relations stand point. That way the caption reads "[Your name here] and" ... everybody else.

Danno said...

In looking at the Newsweek pics from this year and last year, it is always easy to spot Angela Merkel as her color choices are always the loudest in the room.

Tazz said...

I'm sure the media is contorting what happened, but you might be missing something too: isn't Macron mocking Trump, aping his moves at the NATO summit with some exaggeration? Or is that interpretation too obvious to discuss?

Quaestor said...

In looking at the Newsweek pics from this year and last year, it is always easy to spot Angela Merkel as her color choices are always the loudest in the room.

She's a modest little woman with much to be modest about.

tds said...

Looks like Macron sensed opportunity in strained relations between Trump and Merkel for France to play a bigger role. That's the difference between hysteria and real cold blooded diplomacy. That's how you push your country forward.

Darrell said...

The lying Media need to be horsewhipped.

Quaestor said...

This meme was linked to in last night's café, but I think it needs to be seen by every Althousian, including the Trump-haters because it is an object lesson in the power of humor. In a reimagined Bugs Bunny cartoon executed by a very skillful and witty YouTuber called Carpe Donktum (is a YouTuber a kind of potato?) we see Donald Trump literally orchestrate the self-humiliation of the Democratic propaganda ministry.

Darrell said...

$1 was too high a sales price for Newsweek.

Tommy Duncan said...

Perhaps this is why Newsweek was sold for $1 in 2010.

Hagar said...

I think this is another picture where Merkel gets to stand in the middle, since Germany is the host nation, and everyone else is positioned according to seniority in office.

George M. Spencer said...

Of course Trump is on the "extreme right"!

Ha.

Next year he will be front and center.

And Putin, looking like the whiny dwarfy child the other kids shun, is next to oaf-y Xi. Who would want to be their friends!

paminwi said...

Leaders are positioned by protocol- who hosts and then length of time serving as leader.

http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/news/business/protocol-pushes-trump-edge-g-20-photo-article-1.3308768

Even the Daily News that hates Trump says so.

Darrell said...

If the bastards believed their Global Warming nonsense, they would teleconference. Then the lefties couldn't riot, either. Soros could save some money.

Anonymous said...

Merkel looks like she is dressed poorly for a different event.

Ralph L said...

Macron seems to be the opposite of the stereotypical blase Frenchman.

traditionalguy said...

Trump had enough sense to stay out of the Leader's Position in this Globalist Cabal who are all lusting for a cut of the Carbon Loot from the World Government's Great Climate Hoax.

It is fun to watch the Enemy Media creatively fake news every which way but loose to target our President. He is the only thing stopping their conquest of the world.

So Trump is Churchill.



Freeman Hunt said...

Of course Trump doesn't have to fight for the center. He represents the U.S. We are the center, photo or no photo.

Quaestor said...

The lying Media need to be horsewhipped.

No horse deserves to be whipped like that.

Laslo Spatula said...

Doesn't matter where trump is standing. He can drink their milkshakes from any location in the room.

I am Laslo.

Owen said...

Do people "read" photographs the way they do print, that is (for many of us in the West) left to right? If so, Trump is in a "dominant" spot in the group pose and will be seen sooner and remembered better than other leaders. Particularly because we see all of him, not just a head and maybe a shoulder of yet another dark suit.

Trump is an entertainer. He's done TV; really; a lot. He might just have a clue about "stepping into the light."

Laslo Spatula said...

I figured there would be detailed analysis on why Trump forwent a red tie.

I am Laslo.

Chuck said...

I agree that the Newsweek headline is overwrought. But it is like so many headlines, especially on the internet, that are crafted to attract clicks.

I knew this story beforehand; how they arrange world leaders for summit group photos. There are so many summits now, and where they all seem to follow this same rule, that I expected everything in the text of the story.

The one really indefensible line was the one Althouse chose to repeat; that Macron wanted to stand next to Trump. In fact, Macron was srambling late to get to his "assigned" position, as the most newly-elected leader, to the outside of Trump.

btw, U.S. Supreme Court photos are done precisely the same way, but with the Chief Justice (regardless of seniority) in the middle.

If I were the editor of the Newsweek story, I certainly wouldn't have allowed that headline. But I don't see what was so poorly edited in the text. There is a simple explanation for the positioning of the world leaders, and the story provided it. I'm not sure who is more pathologically reactive these days; Trump "haters" or Trump supporters.

Laslo Spatula said...

"I'm not sure who is more pathologically reactive these days; Trump "haters" or Trump supporters."

Sure is a mystery.

I am Laslo.

Owen said...

Laslo: The commentary should address both the redness of the tie, and its length.

Kate said...

Merkel's making that hand gesture -- didn't we talk about this? -- called the Raute. And she makes it after she girlishly reaches for Macron and he snubs her.

But then he's probably an expert at dodging the mommy honeydo.

Snark said...

"French President Emmanuel Macron goes way out of his way, jostling past numerous world leaders to get to stand next to Donald Trump. Angela Merkel, planted in the center front row, actively reaches out to him, but he's dead set on task and makes it to the extreme right, where Donald Trump had positioned himself."


Trump Derangement Syndrome Derangement Syndrome. The positions in these photo ops are predetermined and you can clearly see not only several leaders moving to positions but the man in the blue suit with his back to the camera showing Macron where to go. The tone of the Newsweek article is not particularly helpful or useful, but it does serve to promt one to recall the manner in which Trump got to his position previously, which remains absurd - and as Newsweek intends to point out here, telling.

mezzrow said...

A link from my hometown paper this weekend showed a picture of our VP touching something that said "do not touch". The link was a WP piece that also reviewed the fact that Pence calls his wife 'Mother' and does not dine alone with any woman that is not his wife.

Linked and featured on the front page of the online site on a random weekend Saturday.

Think of what they could have put there instead of this. Remember how we're too stupid and despicable to notice what they're doing... My guess is that its there to give the haters something to talk to one another about while their assumptions are disproved in front of their own eyes. They'll feel so smart and superior, no matter what.

Chuck said...

And by comparision, the Torygraph's* Youtube video is just awful. With none of the explanation offered by the Newsweek article, the Torygraph makes it appear as though Macron just wanted to stand next to Trump. No other reason given. The unstated presumption is that it was all a matter of personal ambition by Macron. Which is doubly bad, since a photographic assistant is seen clearly waving to Macron that he needs to move over to the far left of the frame (stage right).

*I always loved and hated the moniker "Torygraph." I loved its politics and its editorials. I loved its coverage of golf. But "Torygraph" was supposed to be Labour's insult aimed at the newspaper. Still, I liked the notion, back when I lived in London in the 70's, that the papers could be unashamedly partisan, and were.

Gahrie said...

I'm not sure who is more pathologically reactive these days; Trump "haters" or Trump supporters.

The rest of us are.

Gahrie said...

But "Torygraph" was supposed to be Labour's insult aimed at the newspaper

Which is why we lifelong Republicans refer to the paper that way...right?

William said...

I'm not particularly in agreement with Merkel, but she looks comfortable and centered. She's the world leader least likely to give off a Hitler vibe. I think Hillary tried--unsuccessfully--to emulate her style.......Macron knows how to move through a group. He sidles up to each person as though the whole purpose of his procession was to shake their hand, and then he quickly moves on.

Chuck said...

Gahrie said...
"I'm not sure who is more pathologically reactive these days; Trump "haters" or Trump supporters."

The rest of us are.

Of course you are. No doubt. None whatsoever. About anything.

Gahrie said...

Of course you are. No doubt. None whatsoever. About anything.

Oh i have plenty of doubts........

Snark said...

Can we say Althouse has officially become fake news? See: Nietzsche, abyss.

Darrell said...

Can we say Althouse has officially become fake news?

No.
Asshole.

ga6 said...

Angela likes Red, in colors and ideology...

Paco Wové said...

"it does serve to promt one to recall the manner in which Trump got to his position previously, which remains absurd - and as Newsweek intends to point out here, telling."

Snark, could you do a fellow commenter here a solid and explain, in little words, what this phrase is supposed to mean?

Gahrie said...

Snark, could you do a fellow commenter here a solid and explain, in little words, what this phrase is supposed to mean?

"We talked shit about Trump at a NATO photo op previously, and we wanted to remind you of that."

Ralph L said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gspencer said...

When it comes to Frenchmen, I prefer Pepé Le Pew.

Michael K said...

"Can we say Althouse has officially become fake news?"

Who's "we?" Do you have a mouse in your pocket?

Snark said...

"Snark, could you do a fellow commenter here a solid and explain, in little words, what this phrase is supposed to mean?"

I was referring to Trump's aggressive and odd shoving aside of the PM of Montenegro to get to his predetermined position in the NATO meeting photo op. I referred to that as "telling" as it is fully consistent with Trump's Cluster B personality. And as I keep trying to say, Trump's destructive personality structure is not a partisan issue or an issue confined to America.

Ralph L said...

If you look closely, Dusko slips his right arm behind Trump's back but in front of his left arm.

Fabi said...

What is a "Cluster B personality"?

Darrell said...

Trump's destructive personality structure


Exists only in your little diseased mind.

Darrell said...

Obama had a Cluster F personality. We know it as a clusterfuck.

Snark said...

"Who's "we?" Do you have a mouse in your pocket?"

We would be anybody not tied to the tracks of the Tump train and cabable of being frank about how this post claims a completely false narrative about Macron's actions. Everybody welcome. Bring your pocket mice!

Ralph L said...

Dylan's default facial expression is of knowing bemusement.
Jumbo shrimp

Left Bank of the Charles said...

You should call this Trump arrangement syndrome.

n.n said...

Either the prophecy of Catastrophic Anthropogenic Ego Inflation was wrong, there is a narcissistic pause, or it was a secular projection from the far left.

AllenS said...

Clearly, Macron just wanted to stand next to Trump, and there's no other explanation. Who doesn't want to stand next to a winner?

Sebastian said...

"But look how Newsweek presents the same photo op: "IN G20 PHOTO, TRUMP COULDN’T SHOVE HIS WAY TO THE FRONT AND CENTER OF WORLD LEADERS.""

But look, lefties go out of their way again to fabricate news to beat up Trump! It's deplorable!

Prog fake news shows their real derangement. But give them this: they fight, on all fronts, all the time, from misrepresenting photo-ops to mobilizing an independent counsel hit squad to actual violence and threats thereof.

Snark said...

"Exists only in your little diseased mind."

It exists utterly clearly for anybody with the necessary knowledge not desperate to not acknowledge it due to their own partisan hopes, dreams and revenge fantasies.

exhelodrvr1 said...

"He can drink their milkshakes from any location in the room."

Small hands, long straw!

Darrell said...

It exists utterly clearly for anybody with the necessary knowledge not desperate to not acknowledge it due to their own partisan hopes, dreams and revenge fantasies.

That says it all. Is English your second language?

Snark said...

"That says it all. Is English your second language?"

Only if you consider logic my first.

Darrell said...

Only if you consider logic my first.

Then you have no first language. How many times have you fallen on your head?

Gahrie said...

It exists utterly clearly for anybody with the necessary knowledge not desperate to not acknowledge it due to their own partisan hopes, dreams and revenge fantasies.

Hmm...which side of the political system does this most accurately describe today?

Lyle Smith said...

Markovic also grabbed and held Trump's arm. It was kind of like of wrestling move to get Trump back in frame.

Snark said...

"Then you have no first language. How many times have you fallen on your head?"

None, counting that one time I didn't. How many times a day do you metaphorically fall on Trump's head?

AllenS said...

snark1
snärk/Submit
noun
an imaginary animal (used to refer to someone or something that is difficult to track down).

Paco Wové said...

Thanks, Snark. That was informative.

Darrell said...

None. But your amnesia explains your lack of recall regarding your head injuries. Sad.

Bay Area Guy said...

Macron clearly wants his pussy grabbed by Mr. Trump...

Ralph L said...

Someone should make a poll of who knew Montenegro was an independent country.

Quaestor said...

Montenegro benefits far more from its alliance with the United States than the United States benefits from any contribution made by Montenegro. Dusko Markovic should have his right shoulder bronzed and thank his lucky stars America made sure his silly excuse for a country isn't just a department of Greater Serbia.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Snark wrote: "I referred to that as "telling" as it is fully consistent with Trump's Cluster B personality. And as I keep trying to say, Trump's destructive personality structure is not a partisan issue or an issue confined to America."

That comment is certainly a cluster. However, I'd put a different descriptor besides "B" right after "cluster."

Quaestor said...

Macron clearly wants his pussy grabbed by Mr. Trump...

He's drawn by the subtle yet heady aroma of the virility pheromones Trump trails like clouds of glory, which ironically is the also explanation of Macron's fawning embrace of France's Islamic invaders.

Snark said...

"snark1
snärk/Submit
noun
an imaginary animal (used to refer to someone or something that is difficult to track down)."

OMG. I may totally add that umlaut to my handle if technology permits. A permanent ironic snicker. Ha ha!

Quaestor said...

AllenS wrote: ...an imaginary animal (used to refer to someone or something that is difficult to track down).

There's another definition that predates Lewis Carroll.

Snark (noun): An imaginary animal with an anus at both ends

Mr. Majestyk said...

Snark or Snark (with an umlaut) -- it does't matter. It's a Fake Name. Your negative comments about Trump are therefore not in good faith.

Snark said...

"There's another definition that predates Lewis Carroll."

Are you sure? Sounds like something conjured up in the sticky dreams of Larry Craig.

Rusty said...

"I'm not sure who is more pathologically reactive these days; Trump "haters" or Trump supporters."

I'd say the Trump supporters are the reactive ones. Although not pathologically so. After all to be a Trump supporter you need a healthy sense of humor. That, of course, would make the Trump "haters" pathologically hateful since they never turn off the hate. Including subtle digs as to which is worse. Plus their total lack of a sense of humor or a reliance on a juvenile sense of humor and or aggression.
So there.

Snark said...

"Snark or Snark (with an umlaut) -- it does't matter. It's a Fake Name. Your negative comments about Trump are therefore not in good faith."

Thanks Mr. Majestyk. I'll definitely give that all the consideration its logical coherence deserves.

Snark said...

Work summons. So to summarize: Trump - virulent brew of narcissism and psychopathy* Althouse on this day in July - Fake News*

*non-partisan issue

Birkel said...

I like argumentation by assertion. Assertions of narcissism and anybody who disagrees is *insert negative here*. Assumptions of narcissism. Assumptions for anybody who wants them.

Proof and logic are assumed.

These assumptions are not meant to inform, to convince or to motivate. They are meant to disrupt and distract. The people who use such tactics are acting in bad faith.

Laslo Spatula said...

Althouse didn't respond to the catnip of my Dylan / Wiburys comment.

I need better catnip.

I am Laslo.

Anonymous said...

We all tend to grossly overestimate the faults of the other side and underestimate those of our own. That means that if you're truly "not sure who is more [insert any strong pejorative here] these days", your side or the other side, it's your side, for sure, and it's not even close. You side has to do some seriously stupid things to overcome your prejudice in their favor and make them look (to you) approximately as bad as the other side.

Earnest Prole said...

Don't gloss over how Althouse came to be the purveyor of fake news. Like Newsweek, she wanted something to be true so she relaxed her skepticism and gave her mind permission to make it so.

Earnest Prole said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Earnest Prole said...

It’s like when Dan Rather saw George Bush’s Air National Guard memos from the early 1970s, typed in default Microsoft Word: He wanted it to be true, so he gave his mind permission to make it so. If someone had brought him Barack Obama’s original 1961 Kenyan birth certificate, typed in default Microsoft Word, he instantly would have become that skeptical journalist he claims to be. We see what we’re looking for, and it takes great effort to overcome that.

William said...

Laslo, I saw your posting on the Travelling Wilburys. Photos 4 and 5 are duplicates. Is this a mistake or is it some kind of meta comment that I'm too slow to pick up on. Further exegesis is needed....,.,.Theres a music version of marry, fuck, or kill. Whose record would you buy, whose record would you listen to on the radio, and whose record would cause you to change the station? (I recognize I'm using archaic terms, but we're talking about archaic artists.). Of the members of the Wilburys, Dylan is the only artist whose records I actually bought. I liked Roy Orbison and Tom Petty but they weren't in my fan zone. George Harrison and his whiny guitar I actively avoided. I never heard of the fifth artist.

William said...

I'd rather talk about The Traveling Wilburys than the G20 group.

William said...

And I have less interest in the Traveling Wilburys than in the Guarneri String Quartet.

William said...

Macron probably has a pretty hip playlist. Not as hip as Obama's, but hip. Erdogan's playlist would be torture to listen to. I'm not sure, but I bet there's a lot of classical music on Merkel's list. I don't have a clue as to the kind of music May would listen to. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump and I had similar tastes in pop music.

Laslo Spatula said...

No meta, just poor copy-and-paste.
THIS was supposed to bePhoto Five.

I am Laslo.

Etienne said...

I noticed the French President also grabbed some pussy on the way down.

Gahrie said...

I never heard of the fifth artist.

Lead singer of ELO.

dreams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
walter said...

"I'm not sure who is more pathologically reactive these days; Trump "haters" or Trump supporters."
--
Ask Scalisi..

Ralph L said...

Lead singer of ELO
Wasn't he the driving force of ELO?

JMW Turner said...

For God's sake, Jeff Lynne, lead everything in Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is the mystery man.

walter said...

He essentially IS ELO.

Earnest Prole said...

Do yourself a favor after all these years: Listen to Electric Light Orchestra's A New World Record again from start to finish with some good speakers or headphones.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It looks like Mac was being directed by someone to his assigned position. Once he got there, he effectively moved Trump more toward the center.

Ann Althouse said...

Petty's in the middle as a matter of visual balance. He's the blond.

Ralph L said...

he effectively moved Trump more toward the center.
You know how the French are about bathing.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lydia said...

First time I've seen that May video of Trump and Markovic. It was definitely shoving and thrusting, and made totally boorish by Trump's not even attempting to make eye contact with Markovic.

Michael K said...

Another lefty troll to add to the diminishing ranks since the Russian thing imploded.

Thuglawlibrarian said...

Surprised the French boy wonder didn't go straight for the older women. I've heard he likes that sort of thing.

I suppose he would need his school-boy outfit to bring him back to being 15 years old to get the full excitement out of it.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
William said...

I wonder if Trump has any Kanye West songs on his playlist. It's one thing to shoot someone on Fifth Ave (probably a DeBlasio voter anyway), but there are limits to the love his followers give him. I bet Trump never heard of Jeff Lynne either.....Macron looks like the kind of guy who actively seeks out Celine Dion music.

Mian said...

What is Newsweek?

Martin said...

Re the NATO kefuffle, I didn't notice it back in May, but, but as Trump slid past Markovic, the Montenegrin leader, you could see from Trump's left shoulder that he gave Markovic a friendly pat or two on the back as he sidled by, a way of communicating "I like you, nothing personal, please excuse me," which from his face and body language is how Markovic took it.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Martin, this. Re the poll: oh happy Dusko! He'll never dry clean that suit again.