 "Donald Trump's 'chicken tweet' and the picture that speaks two thousand words")
Could this be the tweet of the day? Or the week, for that matter. Why limit it to a day?
Great afternoon in Ohio & a great evening in Pennsylvania - departing now. See you tomorrow Virginia! pic.twitter.com/jQTQYBFpdb
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2016
Seems perfectly ordinary, right? After all, what’s so out of the ordinary about the image of a happy Donald Trump on his way out of Pennsylvania tucking into his dinner? Take a moment with that. Now ask yourself when you’ve known anything said or done by Trump to be ordinary? The Republican presidential candidate once famously tweeted: “ A picture is worth a thousand words”. Admittedly, that was in a very different and incredibly offensive context, but nonetheless, he had a point. If that comparison of wives spoke a thousand words, the image in Trump’s ‘chicken tweet’ as it shall be known henceforth, speaks at least two thousand. Let’s look at the evidence. First up, you’ve got a bucket of the Colonel’s finest. And why not?
One, voters appreciate the common touch and two, it is an election year.
You are very relatable.
— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) August 2, 2016
you eat KFC in your private jet?? You're just like us!!!
— Ben Wexler (@mrbenwexler) August 2, 2016
Ben Wexler and @pourmecoffee seem to have received the memo. But, there’s more to it. There simply must be. An astute businessman like Trump undoubtedly knows the value of product placement and corporate sponsorship. Perhaps, he isn’t planning on bankrolling his entire presidential campaign himself, as he has often mentioned. Maybe he’s planning a series of corporate-sponsored events and tie-ins. The talkshow: Donald Trump’s Truth Hour sponsored by Tag Heuer? The go-and-vote campaign: Just Do It. Vote for Trump in association with Nike? The variety show: Travelling the States with Donald Trump with vehicle partner Chevrolet Or even the cooking show: Make America Grate Again powered by Jacob Bromwell All of this could potentially be very problematic. But let’s move away from that angle real quick and look at another problem. Election campaigns are about endurance, stamina and being able to withstand a whole lot of travel and stress — all of which requires the semblance of a healthy diet to go with it. A massive bucket of fried chicken might not be the best way to go about it. And then there will be those who say, “Well, he’s obviously not going to eat it all himself. He can afford to buy a whole bucket and eat just one piece.” Again, that might not be the best way to go about running a presidential campaign when poverty is a major issue, as is global hunger. And that’s just the start. The smelly brown stuff is about to hit the sharp spinny thing:
fail. You don't eat fried chicken with a fork Bruh 😭
— Black ButtaFly™ (@BlackButtaFlyAL) August 2, 2016
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWho eats KFC with a fork? Whoooooooo?
— The Lady Emeth (@PDGumshoe) August 2, 2016
@huanjia he's eating kfc with a knife and fork man
— koush (@koush) August 2, 2016
There were plenty of other such responses, but we only wanted to bring you the best of the lot had neither the time nor the inclination to look for any more. Regardless, a section of the Twitterati was quick to latch onto and decry Trump’s decision to use cutlery to eat fried chicken. But we really can’t see a problem with it. Be honest, how many of you have never eaten a burger with a knife and fork just to feel elegant? Only us? Okay, using a knife and fork is a practical way of keeping your hands clean and grease-free, especially if you’ve got a speech to memorise for your next public meeting.
Starting to make a little more sense now? Some, like Augustus Steranklozo, were quick to pick up the trend:
Eagle-eyed members of the FP Special Forces investigative unit were quick to note that Trump’s wedding ring was conspicuously absent, particularly in a phase where the potential First Lady has been in the news so much — maybe not for the right reasons, but it still counts. (Note: ‘The Adventures of Melania Trump’ is a different story for a different time) Moving swiftly on, it’s clear the business tycoon has learned from Sarah Palin — she of ‘ I-read-all-the-newspapers’ fame — and her starring role in denying John McCain the job of President of the United States. Accordingly, Trump has laid out, quite literally in this case, the idea that he is familiar with newspapers:
Notice the care that’s gone into making that display look like a carelessly-kept pile of newspapers. Notice also the headline of the lead story on the Wall Street Journal. Not to worry though, Trump’s coming to ‘Make America Great Again’. Only one problem: The edition that adorns Trump’s airborne dinner table is the Saturday edition of the paper ( see the lead story here). Trump’s ‘chicken tweet’ hit cyberspace on Sunday night. Either he’s a day behind on the news or he’s failing miserably at trying to be the common man, who eats common food and harbours common concerns. Ever the jokester, he’s put a little salt shaker down on his stack of newspapers, almost as if to underline the fact that he takes everything printed in those papers with a pinch of salt. Now, that’s funny! And he didn’t even have to mock women, Mexicans, the disabled or the LGBT community to achieve that result. Getting back to Trump’s reading material, the dateline of the edition, the carefully-placed headline, the salt-shaker… something’s amiss. And we believe we’ve found that something.
Look closer and beyond that ‘I will eat your children’ grin.
A little closer.
That’s it. There’s no way we can be 100 percent sure, of course, but could it be that this Trump’s actual reading material, stashed away in the seat behind him while the various elements of this photograph were being laid out? Mysteries abound. And now you know why this picture speaks two thousand words. For all you know, this ‘chicken tweet’ photo could very well become 2016’s answer to Diane Arbus’ ‘Jewish giant at home with his parents in the Bronx, NY, 1970’. Investigation closed. Oh, since we were on the topic of finding meaning in photos, here’s something from which our own Press Information Bureau can take a cue :
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