→ Emmanuel Macron steps into the ring
Just as he prepares to send his troops to war, France’s President is getting himself in shape too. New photos shared by the official photographer of the French Republic show a surprisingly hench Emmanuel Macron letting a few haymakers loose on the punching bag.
Amid statements about the possible sending of the French military to Ukraine, Macron published photographs of him hitting a punching bag. pic.twitter.com/HTP9oxDspl
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 20, 2024
Macron’s sartorial choices have long played an important role in his public messaging. Shortly after the Russian invasion, the President donned a stylish turtle neck to encourage French citizens to turn off the heating. And before that, during his Zelensky-larp phase, he wore a black hoodie bearing the logo of an elite parachute unit. Even if most of the French population doesn’t want to go to war, there’s at least one person who seems up for it.
→ For nearly half of GOP voters, Trump could actually shoot someone on fifth avenue
There was a morsel of truth to Donald Trump’s 2016 claim that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue without losing votes, a new poll has found.
According to a Florida Atlantic University survey, 46.8% of GOP voters said that Trump shooting someone on Fifth Avenue would not impact their vote. For those who plan to vote for the former president in 2024, 48% said no impact, while 29% of Biden voters said the same.
“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” Trump told an Iowa crowd in January 2016. “It’s, like, incredible.” Seems like he was right…
→ Olaf Scholz reaps rewards from Ukraine scepticism
It’s not all bad for the besieged Olaf Scholz. Germany’s Chancellor and his party, the SPD, have risen in the election polls as voters embrace his Ukraine scepticism. Scholz recently quashed another Ukrainian request for the “Taurus” long-range missiles as SPD leaders and voters alike fear that a delivery of the weapons would lead to direct German involvement in the war. During that period, support for his party grew 1.5 percentage points, putting the ruling party at 16%.
These findings will provide a welcome surprise for the German Chancellor, whose party support has suffered since early 2022. Will it be enough to save him at the next election?
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SubscribeI’m just here to say that the Macron boxing picture was the saddest, most pathetic political pic since…well – his attempt to be Zelensky with his late night hoodie shot. And the flashing of the chest wig *pauses to suppress gag reflex*