Poland used to be okay with Trump. Then, he posted a photo.

[FSogol]

The Polish government did everything it could to turn Tuesday’s visit into one of Trump’s more enjoyable moments.
Yet, somehow, Trump managed to offend the Poles so deeply that the fallout was all over Polish news sites on Wednesday morning.

What happened? At the end of their meeting, the two leaders agreed to sign a strategic partnership pact to boost defense, energy, trade and security ties. But what could have been a peaceful moment for both presidents immediately took an awkward turn.

SNIP

While signing the document, Trump sat comfortably in his chair while the Polish leader was forced to stand next to him and awkwardly reach over the table to sign. Poland’s Duda still somehow managed to smile at the camera, as Trump looked on with a stern face. The scene was captured on camera by the White House and was tweeted out shortly after — much to the bewilderment of Polish journalists, politicians and researchers.

The message is clear: Americans do not respect Poles,” Sibora told the Polish news outlet. “If we sign such an important document in that way, we should ask ourselves whether this wasn’t detrimental to the honor of Poland.”

Rick Noack article from the Washington Post here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/09/19/poland-used-be-ok-with-trump-then-he-posted-photo/?utm_term=.7fa0b3788aa5

[Achilleaze]

1. KGOP republican misleader Dirty Donny* has no honor, respects no one

and that is why he has so many legitimate enemies for his illegitimate republican regime.

* aka republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief

[maddiemom]

22. And exactly why he's never had the respect of the Manhatten PTB that he so wanted to be one of...

crude, opportunistic, completely lacking in any innate sense of taste or grace or respect for others. The money and education that he was raised with had no effect on his (missing) better nature. Who but a real-life version of the Beverly Hillbillies, without Jeb's common sense, would plaster everything around them with gold to the point that gold looked tacky? That was the first clue. He didn't even need to open his mouth. Well-done steak with ketchup was the second clue.

[TheBlackAdder]

2. Trump should just pull that Brett Kavanaugh-shaped butt plug out of his ass.

.



.

[lapfog_1]

3. actually, almost ALL rational Americans respect the Polish people

it was just this pResident and his core supporters.

I sure hope the next President can repair all the damage this one is doing.

[dalton99a]

4. The evil look

[Fred Sanders]

29. The Polish Presidents's head is....HUGE! Photoshopped?

[pandr32]

33. It is just jutted forward

The point of the outrage is that the Polish President had to take such an awkward position to sign such an important agreement while Mr. Trump sits comfortably at our oval office desk.

[jmowreader]

42. It is pretty big

Mr. Duda is a very thin man with a broad face. Unfortunately, he's also a Polish-speaking Donald Trump.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrzej_Duda

[lark]

5. Proving again that his arrogance and hate will be his undoing.

He just can't do anything right! He's either twisting their hands to hurt them, pushing them out of the way so he can be at the center of a picture, giving a live interview dogging the leader then the next day lying that the paper messed up his words (remember, it was LIVE), when the printed message matched perfectly with what he previous said, refusing to shake hands, just in general being a total ass then saying how much they like him. NO one likes him who isn't getting paid a ton to do so, the most hateable vile evil mean criminal and treasonous man in the world. If Mueller isn't allowed to destroy him, PUtin will do so in the end, after he's gotten everything he wants and it won't e enough to make up for the harm he's done.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. +1. . . . nt

[Baitball Blogger]

6. He's a bully. And his supporters love him for it, because that is what strength

looks like to them.

[DFW]

7. Is Janusz Sibora trying to be the Polish Sean Hannity?

"Americans do not respect Poles."

What hyperbolic BS. Everyone in Poland knows what a dork Trump is. I talk to Poles every week. Even the ones that support the right wing government know we have a jackass sitting in the Oval Office. I have NEVER heard ONE of them even hint that they think we disrespect them. All of them know we disrespect Trump far more than we could ever disrespect their people.

[Hekate]

40. Thanks for the on the ground report, DFW. nt

[octoberlib]

8. I would think Trump would love Poland's anti-semitic authoritarian Law and Justice party.

Right up Trumps alley.


Since then, Law and Justice has embraced a new set of ideas, not just xenophobic and deeply suspicious of the rest of Europe but also openly authoritarian. After the party won a slim parliamentary majority in 2015, its leaders violated the constitution by appointing new judges to the constitutional court. Later, it used a similarly unconstitutional playbook to attempt to pack the Polish Supreme Court. It took over the state public broadcaster, Telewizja Polska; fired popular presenters; and began running unabashed propaganda, sprinkled with easily disprovable lies, at taxpayers’ expense. The government earned international notoriety when it adopted a law curtailing public debate about the Holocaust. Although the law was eventually changed under American pressure, it enjoyed broad support by Law and Justice’s ideological base—the journalists, writers, and thinkers, including some of my party guests, who believe anti-Polish forces seek to blame Poland for Auschwitz.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/10/poland-polarization/568324/

[whathehell]

20. Biigoted as he is, I see no evidence of anti-semitism in Trump

He seems quite fond of his Jewish son in law, Jared. He has, for instance, given him an extraordinary role as a Middle East advisor, one he's clearly unqualified for in terms of experience.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. Seriously? After Charlottesville?

He tolerates Jared only because he's his son-in-law. He's demonstrated his anti-semitism repeatedly for years. https://www.timesofisrael.com/donald-trumps-anti-semitism-controversies-a-timeline/

[whathehell]

43. Seriously

where was Jared and Trump adviser Stephen Miller after
Charlottesville?

[uponit7771]

9. Poland has seen the Trump kind of leader before, nothing good came out of it

[onlyadream]

10. Honestly, this is stupid, imo.

A pic snapped at a moment when Trump wasn’t smiling (and with Manafort and Cohen he doesn’t have much to smile about). As for the sitting/standing thing? So what. Mountain out of a mole hill. There’s so much that’s REALLY going wrong no that this is just so ridiculous.

[flibbitygiblets]

13. #1 any country who expects Dump to act with grace

simply has their head up their arse. Ask the guy from Montenegro and um, literally everyone else.

Except Putin.


Hmmmm...

[bigbrother05]

14. That is the picture released by the WH

That is the message/image they want the world to see.

If it blows up in their face, it's a problem for America that was caused by this misadministration.

[Separation]

26. Bingo

When you are in charge of a message, you cant ne accused of getting it wrong.

This is nothing more than a continuation of Trump and his anti NATO stance.

[AZ8theist]

18. I disagree.

It's NOT a nothingburger.

It's ANOTHER example of how utterly incompetent Doturd is...how he is so far out of his depth. How unqualified he is at even the simplest civility in foreign affairs.

Image is important for the American President on the world stage. This clown gets an "F" every fucking time he tries....

[onlyadream]

36. I guess I'm so numb to the bull in the china shop.

This seems like small potatoes.

[Caliman73]

38. Your numbness is not the point.

This is a big deal to Poland. They are taking offense for the apparent treatment of their leader. It would be akin to if Putin, or some other world leader took and tweeted some picture of President Obama or Hillary Clinton that made them look subservient and weak during a significant event.

This is not the left taking offense at Trump it is a whole country calling foul. He continues to piss off supposed allies, further isolating the US and diminishing our standing around the world, in service to his ego.

[FSogol]

25. Disagree. Trumpy even managed to piss off the RW suck ups in Poland.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

32. If this is the WH's official picture of the event it was intended to send a message.

There are no accidents in international diplomacy (or in Trump's case, the lack of it). Many photos were certainly taken but this is the one they chose as the official one.

[Separation]

12. Anyone that refuses to see that Trump is trying to break up NATO

Suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome. However, most people in cults of personality like his dont ot wont see things till they are to late.

[VOX]

15. How insane is the world? Poland (POLAND!) has bought into fascism.

It was only 79 years ago this month that Poland was invaded by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. What followed in the next six years remains unspeakably horrific today.

Weirdly enough, the Poles have now embraced the politics of hatred, exclusion, and nationalism. They have betrayed and stained their own history.

[Snake Plissken]

16. Trump's parents raised Trump just like he raised Uday and Qusay with no decency and no class.

Let's' not forget who we are dealing with here

[The Polack MSgt]

17. Duda is an embarrasment to Poland

Not only is he is a RW shit head - he's actually dumb enough to believe sucking up to Trump is a good idea.

Look around Duda, Trump works for Putin - he is not going to strengthen your country AGAINST Putin

[geardaddy]

27. +1

[blue-wave]

35. +1

But I might add that this was purposely staged for the benefit of Daddy Vladdy. Donny had to make the Polish Nation look subordinate to him and by extension Daddy Vladdy, who is the real ruler of the roost.

Poland needs to wake up. They are being played. Their enthusiastic embrace of totalitarian government for their own country played right into Daddy Vladdy's hands.

[FakeNoose]

19. What would anyone expect from someone who walks in front of the Queen of England?

Cheeto will never show good manners or consideration towards anyone, and it's already been proven.

[Cousin Dupree]

21. Any expectations of normal behavior will be met with diappointment

[MrsCoffee]

23. "former centrist Polish president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa appeared to troll Duda"

My favorite part. Walesa posted a photo on facebook of him sitting regally in a chair with Donald standing behind him.

"You find difference" the post said.

[FSogol]

24. +1 n/t

[Pepsidog]

28. Never thought I would say this but our President is a Douche Bag

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

30. It's not that he has anything against Poland in particular; he's just rude and boorish

and always has to give the impression that he's the top dog. He doesn't respect Poles because he doesn't respect anybody.

[librechik]

34. I'm surprised our keenly sensitive monarch was unaware of the awkwardness

Usually he is the master of social nuance

And now the news. Rain is wet.

[Jake Stern]

37. Words I'd love to hear from our next Dem president

"I have ordered the withdrawal of all American forces from the Republic of Poland. Further I have ordered the suspension of diplomatic relations with Poland, Hungary and Turkey until they restore the rule of law."

[Grasswire2]

39. Rump's in a real mood there, isn't he?

Hide the good vases and lamps.

[Scurrilous]

41. What an embarrassment he is.