This article appeared in the June 11, 2018 edition of the Monitor Daily.

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Monitor Daily Intro for June 11, 2018

Perhaps you’ve seen it by now. The picture has certainly made the rounds on social media. There is President Trump, arms folded, chin tilted defiantly, sitting in a chair. And standing opposite him, leaning forward in unmistakable agitation, are Western leaders including, conspicuously, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Taken at the Group of Seven meeting in Quebec last weekend, the photograph is an uncanny portrait of the Trump presidency. To critics, it portrays a man determined to undermine the post-World War II global order. To supporters, it shows a president who won’t be cowed.

The internet, of course, has had a grand time with the photo, including turning it into the "Last Supper." The Atlantic, in all seriousness, compared it with the masterworks of Caravaggio and Edgar Degas. Even China got into the act, posting the photo alongside another from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, where attendees including Russia apparently had a perfectly lovely time. “Unilateralism is strong on the surface, but in reality it’s difficult to sustain,” an editorial in the Global Times scolded.

Yet perhaps the picture works best when paired with the scenes from Singapore. German staring contests and Chinese lectures on multilateralism are unusual byproducts of American foreign policy. But so are presidential summits to denuclearize North Korea. The real portrait this week is of the potential and peril of one-man diplomacy. 

Here are our five stories for today, including changing views of unity in Europe, a small-town take on Trump talk, and how the silver screen led to a golden age for dinosaur hunters. 


This article appeared in the June 11, 2018 edition of the Monitor Daily.

Read 06/11 edition
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