Here is a bit of humor on a Friday. The G7 Summit turned into a middle school playground when world leaders began mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin for taking numerous shirtless photographs. We have all seen the horseback riding photo and others depicting masculine activities, which is no doubt propaganda. Regardless, at a time when tensions are extremely high, the top leaders in charge should remain civil and diplomatic.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on camera, “Jackets on or off? Should we keep it on or off, should we take our clothes off… We all have to show that we’re tougher than Putin.” The other leaders joined in, with Justin Trudeau saying he wanted to go bare-chested for a photograph and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Macron also chiming in with laughter.
Putin responded to the bullying in a quite humorous way. “I don’t know how they wanted to undress, to the waist or below the waist, but I think that it would have been a disgusting sight in any case,” Putin stated. He went on to say that these leaders should stop abusing alcohol and refrain from other bad habits, and instead turn to sports and physical activities.
“The colleagues you mentioned, I know all of them personally, we are not having the best period of our relations, this is understandable…” Putin went on to say, calling them colleagues, as he wishes to have a mature dialogue with them. In a last bit of negging, he said that since they are “world leaders” they must have “character,” and he believes they can achieve their physical and personal goals. This is all just another reminder that we live in a clown world.
