Jupiter and Trumpelchen in love, or 0 + 0 = 1(st)

In this week, we were showered in images of pure, mutual love between the presidents of France and the U.S.A. Some may find this odd, given the obvious differences between the two lovebirds. But it's completely natural.

(Image source: buecher.de)

When I was a kid, the "Liebe ist..." (Love is ...) doodles first drawn by the late Kim Casali where nearly everywhere. And this week's images from the meeting between petit Jupiter Macron, the monarch of France elected by an absolute majority of French voters (10 Mio votes more than the nasty woman competing in the 2^nd round; bit over 50% of the 42 Mio electorate), and Trumpel the Orange-Elephant, the sitting U.S. president washed in the Oval Office by a qualifying minority of American voters (about 25% of the electorate voted for him, 3 Mio less than the competing nasty woman), reminded me of them.

The two nasty women that may have become meeting presidents. Left, the unlikely Bleu Jeanne, who failed because the French were afraid of their own Trumpel (photo: Foto-AG Gymnasium Melle). Right, Crooked Hillary, who failed because the American president is still elected by the rules of the late 18^th, early 19^th century (photo: public domain).

Trumpelchen adored Jupiter from the first moment they met, when the orange-billionaire was wrestled down by Jupiter's mighty handshake (full video). The successful, seemingly intelligent son that he never had. He also envied him, because French presidents, being elected quasi-absolute monarchs, get military parades. Something that would have filled the empty place in front of the White House during Trumpel's inauguration. And let's not forget that Jupiter may have an older, but well-preserved and very attractive spouse, as Trumpelchen was so nice to point out in their first meeting. A grown-up Ivanka closer to his own age, a dream must have come true.

For Jupiter, on the other hand, is was only love at second sight. In contrast, to (future) Mad Max May, who seemed to enjoy being pushed around by the orange brute, a truly special relationship. Their love cooled down very fast, which is strange, because the Tory government does everything to ease the annexation by the U.S.: cut down public spending, taxes, health care, social standards, etc. But the posh Brits don't take the shwittering lightly.

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Jupiter and Trumpelchen had to fall in love eventually, they are such a match. 

Liebe ist ... when you both can press really large red buttons.

Liebe ist ... showing photos of who's better off.

You know, the old: my house (a tie, the White House may be bigger, but the Élysée Palace is more beautiful), my spouse (point for M.), my jet (point for T., the Air Force One is hard to beat), my aircraft carrier (multiple points for T., France can't even afford them anymore on its own or at all), my country (point for M, in pretty much all aspects, still.).
 

Liebe ist ... when the younger, fitter, better looking partner is as much hated by its people than you are.

Currently, the RCP average job approval (which include Rasmusson's +10 bonus polls to compensate the poor polling of what Trumpel and the Trumpelians call "fake news") gives ~40 approve to ~55 disapprove for T, and M keeps in line with that. 

Would make a fitting "Love is...", too (image source: Reader's Digest)

Liebe ist ... when you have a mutual enemy to bomb for good (and to distract from your hazardous domestic politics)

In France, we still enjoy the "pearl strike" of the railway, and the Canard enchaîné doesn't run out of material regarding the "new" politics (spoiler: it's all old ideas, just new labels). In the U.S. the "non-establishment" president signed a tax bill that made the Republican establishment so happy that their speaker will let go his sure seat in the House after only two decades. He knows: it only can get worse. Especially, when people realise who has to pay for the message-sending rockets (worth about 100 Mio. $, a NYT long-read on the strike) — China, of course. 


Liebe ist ... being a natural-born billionaire meeting a neoliberal ENArchist.

The lovebirds and their original competitors in the 2-dimensional classification of The Political Compass. And as the French party genealogy demonstrate, for a "centrist social-liberal" like Macron it would be a huge leap to the political centre (or, god-beware, left), but just history repeating itself leaving social liberalism behind. Also, actual hard-ass authoritarians are just those who back Trump (e.g. Mr. Vice-President, who is the guy attending all those boring security meetings). 

Macron is right: He and Trump have so much in common. And it's not the way they reached their seats of power as "outsiders" wanting to change how politics are done. Sure. No, it's much more fundamental.

Both have always been part of the elites, born with silver spoons in their buttocks. Trump, son of a demi-billionaire (inflation-corrected), Macron of two medical doctors, a professor for neurology and a paediatrist becoming (likely well-paid) consultant of the state insurance. [Info to U.S. readers: this is this odd socialist thing we have throughout Europe coming with the concept of a welfare state.] Both went to schools only money can buy. Trump the good Christian (his followers do believe that) first to this normal rich-people school and then to a private military academy (guess why). Macron to a Jesuits' outlet, who turned him into a faithful catholic (of course, after all Macron is a "social-liberal"). Having more than the rudimentary intelligence of his American soulmate, Macron went to the ENA, one of the two grande écoles at which France educates its political and administrational elite. Being a bummer when it comes to reading and thinking, Trump only managed to buy or sit-off a bachelor degree at Wharton.

Trump's famous Spickzettel (crib sheet) when meeting selected victims of the Florida shooting. (Remember, they were going to fight for changing the 1700s gun legislation, who still cares? The #NeverAgain is still running)

Neither one has ever had any real political convictions beyond the usual Friedman/Mont Pèlerin credo (official homepage of the MPS): make the rich richer and free them from any obligations, so they may help the poor. And make the world a better place. Eventually.

Meanwhile, let's enjoy this new innocent love of two likely zeroes (as sitting presidents) that are about to become (an) one to "make America and France great again" and put their respective great nations "first" (yes, another thing they have in common).