Perhaps no other photo is in more need of a thorough caption than the one released Saturday by the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel from the Group of Seven’s annual meeting in Quebec.
Tense and confrontational, it appears to sum up President Donald Trump’s entire trip, which highlighted divisions among the global powers.
The image dramatically depicts the German leader in an assertive pose, planting both hands firmly on a crisp tablecloth as she addresses President Donald Trump, who is seated before her with his arms crossed wearing a dispassionate expression.
Beside Trump is his national security adviser, John Bolton, apparently speaking above the locked eyes of the U.S. and German leaders. A seemingly unimpressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe gazes at the group.
The description attached by Merkel’s office is a totally unsatisfying one.
“Day two of the G7 summit in Canada: spontaneous meeting between two working sessions,” it reads.
Although we don’t know what was really going on at that moment, the image garnered plenty of commentary from armchair body-language experts on the internet:
Trump left the summit early, as planned, before the leaders discussed climate change.
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