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Was An Umbrella The Latest Symbol Of Putin’s Power Play? Twitter Thinks So
Swarajya Staff
Jul 16, 2018, 05:30 PM | Updated 05:30 PM IST
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The scene where Putin was offered an umbrella while two other heads of state drenched in the rain caught eyeballs on Twitter after the FIFA World Cup final in Moscow. Commentators called this incident as the latest symbol of Putin's 'power' in the region.
Putin having his own Umbrella Guy while everyone else gets soaking wet in the rain is an absolute power move pic.twitter.com/KAoi8gXhUk
— Clemquon (@TheClemReport) July 15, 2018
The French President Emmanuel Macron and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic got completely drenched before they were offered 'smaller' umbrellas as per an ANI report. The incident was, however, labelled as an example of poor Russian hospitality by another Twitter user.
Talk about Russian hospitality. #Putin under the only umbrella while Macron & KitaroviÄ soaking. #Worldcup2018Russia pic.twitter.com/9R2hKJb4ik
— Tara Kangarlou (@tarakangarlou) July 15, 2018
The incident was used as another opportunity to draw a comparison between Trump and Putin. An earlier image of Trump holding an umbrella for himself was used as a justification for this comparison.
The âumbrellaâ policy.#Trump #Putin #Kaczynski pic.twitter.com/gbTr0EUWZC
— Miroslaw Szczerba (@MirekVoice07) July 16, 2018
While observers may interpret the incident in their own way, what one can surely say is Putin's aides had the presence of mind to bring a umbrella for their president. While international politics and personal agenda may have had no role in the incident, the oversight of organisers and aides led to the 'umbrella fiasco'.
Nevertheless, the French and Croatian presidents deserve praise for gracefully enduring the rain without any complaints.
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