Admittedly, it looked rude when President Donald Trump appeared to have come from the back and shoved another world leader out of the way so he could be in front for a photo at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit on Thursday, May 25. The world leader spoke out and told a different story from the one on social media.
The video depicting President Donald Trump shoving Montenegro's prime minister, Dusko Markovic, out of the way so he could be in the front row went viral. However, the viral video did not tell the whole story. There was a reason for Trump to be in the front row at his first summit meeting.
Prime minister's explanation
Markovic explained to reporters exactly what happened. He said it was no big deal because he didn't realize what really happened until he saw it online later and read how people on social media reacted. To him, it was a harmless gesture.
Social media lashed out without knowing the whole story. Trump was right to make his way to the front row, according to the Associated Press. It is a standing tradition that the president of the United States is supposed to be in the first row when a photo is taken. The chart for the event also indicated that Trump was where he was supposed to be.
Did Trump just shove another NATO leader to be in the front of the group? pic.twitter.com/bL1r2auELd
— Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) May 25, 2017
Markovic was supposed to stand in the back for the photo because his country is scheduled to become NATO's 29th member in June.
The prime minister said the incident was blown out of proportion. In fact, he just smiled and patted Trump on the back. He later thanked Trump for backing Montenegro's entry into NATO.
Social media comments
Most of the comments on social media were negative. However, nobody bothered to check to see why it happened. They only saw that it did happen.
Comments came from celebrities and others who thought the viral video told the whole story. Unfortunately, they didn't know that the arrangement had already been pre-determined.
One person commented that Trump took "America First" to heart. J.K. Rowling, writer of the Harry Potter franchise, called him a "tiny, tiny, tiny, little man." Another commented that it was embarrassing.
One person did comment in the right spirit. He said that it was a friendly pat, not a shove. It's one we have all experienced. He added that the guy smiled at Trump and patted him on the back.
While Trump's action did fit his personality and characteristics, he was right in going to the front. Perhaps the shove could have been avoided, but the bottom line is that he was not out of place in the photo.
