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Louis Staples
Jul 26, 2019
This week, Donald Trump addressed a group of teenage conservative activists from controversial student group Turning Point USA.
But there was one glaring problem.
Behind Trump as he spoke in front of thousands of phone-clutching teens was a screen. The screen displayed a parody image of the presidential seal featuring a two-headed eagle that bore a striking similarity to the State seal of the Russian Federation. The eagle clutched a set of golf clubs in its talons.
The seal was visible behind Trump, who stood behind a podium affixed with the official presidential seal during his speech.
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Turning Point apologised for the incident, telling CNN there was "zero malicious intent" behind the imagery.
We're sorry for the mix-up and meant no disrespect to the White House or the President or the advance team.
The individual responsible, a member of Turning Point’s team, was let go. Allegedly, the incident was just a Google search mistake.
The seal's eagle evokes imagery of the Russian coat of arms. Trump's relationship with Russia has cast somewhat of a shadow over his presidency after Robert Mueller’s investigation into his campaign’s involvement in Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Naturally, given the Russian interference in the 2016 election – which Trump benefited from – Twitter found Turning Point's blunder hilarious.
After images of the seal were saved online, "45 is a puppet" began trending on Twitter, which was written on the seal. This likely references when Hillary Clinton famously said in 2016 that Russian president Putin would "rather have a puppet" like Trump as presdient.
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H/T: CNN
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