Donald Trump tweets alternative Angela Merkel G7 photo

The US President moves to counter the perception he didn’t get along with world leaders at the G7 summit by posting his own series of photos.

Mr Trump's alternative photo from the G7 summit in Canada.

Donald Trump has moved to clear up the “Fake News” sparked by a viral photo of him and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G7 summit to counter the perception that he didn’t get along with the other leaders.

The original photo, taken at last weekend’s summit in Canada, shows her with a stern expression leaning on a table as she appears to speak directly to Mr Trump. The US president sits with his arms crossed, a defiant look on his face. The image, which triggered a wave of memes and was compared to great works of art, was seen as evidence that Mr Trump was alone against the will of other world leaders. The photo was originally shared from Ms Merkel’s Instagram.

The original offending image.

Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that the “Fake News Media” were only sharing unflattering images from the summit to make him appear incompetent. “I have a great relationship with Angela Merkel of Germany, but the Fake News Media only shows the bad photos (implying anger) of negotiating an agreement — where I am asking for things that no other American President would ask for!” he said. He shared new photos from the summit in a move to counter this perception.

Trump's tweet alternative Merkel photo

Trump shared this photo from the G7 to make him look better

I have a great relationship with Angela Merkel of Germany, but the Fake News Media only shows the bad photos (implying anger) of negotiating an agreement - where I am asking for things that no other American President would ask for! pic.twitter.com/Ib97nN5HZt

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2018

A journalist pointed out the opposing perspectives presented in the photos shared by Germany, France, Italy and the USA.

One scene - four different perspectives #G7

1) by Merkel‘s team 🇩🇪
2) by Macron’s team 🇫🇷
3) by Conte’s team 🇮🇹
4) by Trump’s team 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/q3qaSfaiQS

— Fabian Reinbold (@fabreinbold) June 9, 2018

Mr Tump also tweeted that he got on well with the other world leaders in attendance, including a photo of him with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron smiling on a balcony.

“The Fake News Media said that I did not get along with other Leaders at the #G7Summit in Canada. They are once again, WRONG!” he wrote.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron smiling on a balcony.

The Fake News Media said that I did not get along with other Leaders at the #G7Summit in Canada. They are once again, WRONG! pic.twitter.com/I6eEKEZV6z

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2018

At the end of the contentious summit, Mr Trudeau angered Mr Trump by saying new US tariffs on Canada on national security grounds were “insulting.” Mr Trump responded by accusing Mr Trudeau of dishonesty and withdrawing Washington’s endorsement of a joint communique.

The move by Mr Trump has parallels to when he disputed the media’s estimation of his 2017 inaguaration crowd size which was significantly smaller than the one pulled by former President Barack Obama.

The then new President stated he was “at war” with the media and said the crowd had actually numbered in the millions.

“We had a massive field of people. You saw that. Packed.” he said.

“I get up this morning. I turn on one of the networks and they show an empty field. I say: ‘Wait a minute. I made a speech. I looked out. The field was … It looked like a million, a million and a half people.’ …

Here are the photos that show Obama's inauguration crowd was bigger than Trump's https://t.co/9kcCRYDMdk pic.twitter.com/ahOiVbsddz

— Elizabeth Johnson (@_ejohnson_) March 7, 2017

The new President reportedly called the acting director of the National Park Service, the agency responsible for assessing the number of people in attendance, to complain about the widely circulated images of the crowd.

With wires