How would the world and the press have reacted if Angela Merkel was male?

[smirkymonkey]

I am still appalled by how Trump treated Merkel yesterday. How he just ignored her and refused to shake her hand. How rude he was to her in the press conference. But what really surprised me, after taking a quick browse through the media sites in this country and other as well as many liberal blogs, is how little attention it is getting.

The way he treated her was completely unacceptable and, I believe, unprecedented. Where is the outrage in the Western world? If it had been a male head of state would this incredibly indecorous slight have been so overlooked? I am just amazed by how much it outraged me and how little it seemed to outrage the rest of the world.

[lindysalsagal]

1. She's not a 10. Not even a 7.5. Hurt his image to be seen with her.

Effing bastard.

[smirkymonkey]

2. He is supposed to act like a head of state regardless.

He is supposed to control his personal feelings and be a statesman. He FAILED. Bigly.

WTF is wrong with him? He acted like a fucking 3 year old who was denied a piece of candy. Not like a president. She is the most powerful head of state in the western world, and this is how he treats her? It's unacceptable.

[L. Coyote]

5. She had lectured him like a little school boy and he, of course, needed to pout for a while.

[smirkymonkey]

7. Ok, that literally made me LOL!

I'm still laughing. That's going in the archives!

[Kittycow]

9. It's pretty funny! !

[L. Coyote]

10. Life would be less bearable without the twitter feed highlighting these gems.

I follow scientists mostly, but they just can't keep away from politics either. I started following this account for the Parrot of the Day retweets.

Link to tweet

[calimary]

65. MAN-oh-MAN I do NOT want to be anywhere nearby when that evil, selfish, mean-spirited

and cold-hearted Scrooge finally finds himself at the Pearly Gates, having to explain himself to St. Peter to try to be admitted into Heaven. Good luck with that, Mulvaney. Let's all hear how well you absorbed the lesson of Matthew 25:35-45 (the one about "the lest of My brethren".) And I'll bet you'll go to your grave loudly protesting how "Christian" you were.

[demmiblue]

8. Lol!

[Itchinjim]

16. Ha!

[KingCharlemagne]

23. ROTFLMFAO - nt

[lunasun]

32. LOL perfecto morning laugh from that

[PdxSean]

33. That's a keeper! Thanks!

[solarjre]

39. Awesome!

Thanks L. Coyote... I needed that!

[uponit7771]

46. lofl

[BlancheSplanchnik]

47. Oh yaass...that's a good one!

Petulant little turd.

[mia]

49. Thank you.

Love it!

[lindysalsagal]

56. LOL!

[pkdu]

59. First LOL of the day!...many thanks!! nt

[ismnotwasm]

60. Oh my goodness I'm stealing that!

[L. Coyote]

62. It is already trending on the Home page. REC it up!

What did I tell you about hiring Nazis?

[FailureToCommunicate]

66. Yup. Being scolded by the headmaster!

[L. Coyote]

73. REC this up:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028810764

[demmiblue]

3. We all know the answer to that... it would have been widely reported and condemned.

I only watched the clip of him refusing to shake hands. Even when I think I can't be surprised/shocked anymore, the shitgibbon proves me wrong.

I was thinking about watching the press conference, but I don't know if I have the stomach for it.

[L. Coyote]

4. He hates being seen as inferior to anyone, much less a woman. She is out of his league.

Link to tweet

[smirkymonkey]

6. Actually, I think the truth is that he is out of HER league

Maybe that is what you meant, but he was so out of his element yesterday. He is such an embarrassing joke. I think we are used to politicians who are buffoons in this country but when we are held up to Europeans (most of them, anyway) many of our politicians look like the uneducated rednecks that they are.

[L. Coyote]

11. Good league versus bad league. Polar opposites.

Trump is in league with authoritarian Russian mobsters, Merkel is in league with democracy.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[smirkymonkey]

20. *snort*

[riversedge]

25. Trump, once again, made himself look like the FOOL he is!

[tblue37]

37. Even more telling, she is from East Germany, so such a wall idea would feel like

a personal affront.

[L. Coyote]

57. Patrick is paying attention to details, as usual.

https://www.nytimes.com/by/patrick-chappatte

[riversedge]

30. Trump, once again, made himself look like the FOOL he is!

[lostnfound]

15. Holy shit. No offense, Ivanka, but that photo alone is humiliating for the United States

"Angela Merkel, substance and power" Vs "Trump, flash and fluff".

It is wildly inappropriate and insulting, and the trumplings aren't even aware of it.

[smirkymonkey]

21. Seriously, WTF is she doing there?

Can we possibly get this stupid bimbo out of our government - please?

[rurallib]

19. She has a PhD in physical chemistry. He can't spell a 3 letter word correctly.

[smirkymonkey]

28. Jealousy is such an unattractive trait.

It's all over his face. He can't hide it, ever.

[kacekwl]

35. Why was she there ?

[JudyM]

64. She thinks she's part of Starfleet Command, judging by the pin on her dress.

[LakeArenal]

44. Well, maybe the little ladies might want to go powder their noses together....

[SunSeeker]

53. Why the fuck is Ivanka sitting in on all these meetings?

Every time I see her seated with world leaders, it looks like an awkward "bring your daughters to work" day. She has nothing to offer but embarrassment.

[L. Coyote]

58. Training to run for Empress in seven years.

Someone will have to run the global empire

[stevenleser]

69. My honest take? Because the entire Trump clan knows she is the only one of them with a brain

in her head.

Of all of them working on something she has the only good chance of not screwing it up. That's why I don't join in on her attending these things. Although I do underlstand the sentiment.

In any remotely normal situation and administration, the daughter of the President would have no business being there.

[PdxSean]

12. One of three recent body blows.

It takes a lot for a Republican to shock me because my expectations of them are always based on their prior treacherous conduct. Alas, I got three, recent gut-punchers that still have my stomach in knots: talk of eliminating school lunch funding, saber rattling with N. Korea, and Trump's public refusal to shake Merkel's hand while publicly embracing Russia.

America has had darker days with racism and hate, but I know of no other period in U.S. history when America has been poised to attack itself from within by all three branches of our government.

I haven't given up, but I fear it will get much, much darker before we wake.

[smirkymonkey]

17. Don't give up.

I know, it's about as bad as it can get and I hope it doesn't get worse. I really hope we don't have to sink much lower before the republican party and the good people of this country wake up and get rid of this goon.

Welcome to DU.

[KingCharlemagne]

26. Wait until we have 25% unemployment and generl economic collapse. We haven't

seen anything yet.

[PdxSean]

31. Thanks, smirkymonkey.

Some days it feels like trying to stop an avalanche mid-way down.

[riversedge]

22. I believe Sen. Diane Fienstien was spot on a few days ago when she said that Trump will take

himself down (paraphrasing). I do believe he will. Sooner or later. Keep resisting anyway you can.

[CousinIT]

13. 180 degrees. Merkel is a powerful women. She's not under 30. Not a model.

And SHitler hasn't a CLUE what to do with that -- all while his ABSOLUTE DISRESPECT is palpable. A woman like Merkel or Clinton - he has NO USE for. In which case he SHOULD NOT BE in the role he's in. Full stop. The weasel has his right to hate certain women, but that is NOT ACCEPTABLE in many jobs - POTUS being absolutely one of them.

[smirkymonkey]

27. That's what bothers me. She shouldn't have to be a model.

She is one of the most powerful leaders in the world. She deserves some respect. He showed her none. That is just completely unforgivable on his part. His personal feelings should not come into play here. As a head of state he needs to act like a grown up and behave properly. I agree with you completely - it is NOT ACCEPTABLE!

[CousinIT]

38. I know. The only value Trump sees in women is their looks & how they make HIM look next to him.

He can't deal with powerful, accomplished women. Doesn't know how to behave around them. Can't contain his utter disrespect of them. He worries they make him look bad. When the truth is, he's making himself look bad. Merkel. Clinton. Both admired around the world by women and men and very well accomplished women. Their admiration is well deserved. But Trump just can't respect them. And that's not just because of their politics. It's because he has issues with powerful, accomplished women - even a woman who is from an ally country. He clearly - for this and many other reasons - does not belong int he role he's in.

Ugh.

[smirkymonkey]

40. I don't know if you saw the presser w/ Merkel yesterday, but the look on Trump's

face was the exact same one he had during the debate w/ Clinton. Like he either wanted to strike her or he just wanted out of there. It was this pouty, angry little boy "who didn't get his way" look. I just wanted to punch it off his face. At least he didn't hover in back of Merkel stalking her, but the look on his face was identical

God, I just hate that mofo more than I ever thought I could hate anyone in my entire life!

[SharonAnn]

51. Well, he's certainly not a model. On a scale of 1 to 10, he's a 1 (maybe).

He's old, ugly and fat.

[smirkymonkey]

55. Exactly! He is in no position to judge ANY woman on her looks.

He is a repulsive physical specimen. The sight of him make me want to hurl!

[Left-over]

41. Merkel is a serious leader who makes the right decisions for her country

Angela Merkel is a leader who takes the initiative to try to make the best decisions for not only Germany but the EU as well. As with all leaders, there are things I like about her and some things I don't, but I can respect the earnest dedication to how she goes about things. The way Drumpf goes about trying to lie, bully, and throw juvenile temper tantrums when he does not get his way, I find nothing about him to respect.

[smirkymonkey]

43. Thank you for your valuable input!

And welcome to DU!

[CousinIT]

67. Ditto that. Zero respect for Trump. His behavior is consistently disgusting. n/t

[IronLionZion]

14. He tends to roughly manhandle men when shaking hands

there are many videos where he pulls them man in close so they lose their balance, and he put the Japanese PM's hand in a long death grip so that the poor guy looked relieved when he let go. And he had to hold Teresa May's hand because he's too scared to walk down stairs.

He snubs people and insults the disabled and generally screws over everyone every chance he gets including his own flesh and blood family members because he's such a heartless bastard.

But the Angela Merkel incident looks like they started out friendly with handshakes and smiles and she must have mopped the floor with him intellectually and got the better end of whatever deal they negotiated. It's no secret that she's brilliant and he's a dumbass. He looked pissed, as he often does.

Donald Trump is absolutely terrible at handshakes
http://mashable.com/2017/02/01/donald-trump-is-bad-at-shaking-hands/#Mu9zSZTWAkqk

[smirkymonkey]

29. I have a feeling she would have thrown him to the floor if he had

tried to pull that aggressive handshake crap with her. She kind of owned him and he resented it. Still, he should have behaved like a professional instead of a toddler without his binkie.

[SharonAnn]

52. Nanny is going to send to bed without his dinner for that behavior.

[riversedge]

18. Trump was a jerk and the world saw it all. Simple as that.

[L. Coyote]

36. Others are saying his is such a child, so maybe he's the jerk child, or childish jerk, or needs his

bottle



Or, maybe he just has a tiny hands complex.

[Bettie]

24. Or, how would our press have reacted

if she had refused to shake his hand?

[The Big Ragu]

34. I've seen bar fights started for less

[rpannier]

42. I'm beginning to think it would not matter

I think it is reaching the point where they are deciding which idiocy to ignore because there is so much insanity and lack of civility. How do you decide?

[smirkymonkey]

45. I do not think this was a trivial matter. The heads of state of two of the most

powerful countries of the world met. Publicly and in front of the cameras. He was extraordinarily rude and indecorous. That was not a trifle. It was a major slight and diminished our standing in the eyes of the world. I don't think it is something to be ignored because I think it is just one more example of his unfitness for office. The man needs to go. There is nothing else to be said about it.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

50. I agree with you that the media would be on fire if he'd behaved that way

To a male Head of State.


Hey smirky! geez, I can't even think of more to say...I guess the levels of outrage are jamming my outrage-O-meter. All I can think of anymore is taking a baseball bat to that goddamn carny-grinning, pouting, flabby, puffy-squinty-eyed, orange-hued face.

[smirkymonkey]

54. Oh, you said it!

What a great description! LOL!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

63. Haa!! Yeah that's about all I can do anymore...describe him ....and Eddie Munster,

And the rest of the anal fissures.

[58Sunliner]

48. So true. Apparently he forgot and washed his hands after using the toilet.

Maybe she told him they had video too. He obviously wasn't able to be the dominant male so he spent the rest of the meeting feeling emasculated. Pathetic POS.

[HipChick]

61. Maybe..

I'm pretty sure he didn't want to shake my hands, because my hands are bigger than his tiny ones..

[img]:large[img]

[JHan]

71. ah what could have been ..... sigh.

Instead we get tropicana jong il.

[Rhiannon12866]

68. I think the reaction would have been pretty much the same

Germany is a major ally and rude is rude.

[smirkymonkey]

70. Do you think the media would have ignored a major diss like that

if Trump had done it to a male head of state? I'm sorry, I don't. I could be wrong here, but I just found his behavior shockingly rude for a head of state. I still can't believe it. If he had done that to Abe, would the press be silent the next day?

[Rhiannon12866]

72. Last night they were comparing her reaction to Trump's inappropriate nonsense

To the reaction of Benjamin Netanyahu when he had that inept press conference which revealed he knew nothing about Israeli issues. His stupidity cuts across all lines.