Days after the US and French presidents did some viral tree-planting, the two Korean did their bit to turn gardening into a new global trend. Awkwardly enough, Trump and Macron were seemingly outdone or rather, out-treed.
In a historic moment on Friday, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in were spotted shoveling soil on the roots of a pine tree. The pine tree was beloved by ancient Koreans, and the leaders’ gesture was meant to represent the peace and prosperity that both countries envisage for their future. Kim and Moon proceeded to figuratively plant a tree of peace, signing a declaration that proclaimed a “new era” in relations.
Everything about the ceremony was symbolic, including the soil and water taken from both Koreas, and the fact that the pine tree was sown in 1953, the year the divided peninsula signed the armistice which ended the Korean War.
The symbolism was, however, taken to a whole new level by snarky observers that drew parallels with another tree-planting ceremony – in front of the White House on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump and his beau Emmanuel Macron planted a much smaller oak sapling – and the irony wasn’t lost on many.
Some suggested Kim was actually making a statement to Trump, who in January infamously tweeted about having a nuclear button “much bigger and more powerful” than Kim’s.
READ MORE: ‘I still have a bigger button’: Trump & Kim doppelgangers ‘negotiate’ in S. Korea (VIDEO)
Down-to-earth skeptics, meanwhile, struggled to believe that all the issues could be buried with a shovel. They said that one tree, no matter how big, would probably not suffice to calm the tensions between the two Koreas.
Others credited Trump with bringing the two Koreas together – although not in a very flattering manner. Trump’s newly-emerged doppelganger – a Spanish woman with a striking resemblance to the US leader standing with a shovel in a field – was inevitably brought up as well.
READ MORE: ‘Burying the body’: Twitter goes smart-ass about Trump & Macron planting tree
The online fuss comes days after Trump and Macron were mercilessly mocked in the Twittersphere, when they shoveled dirt around a young European sessile oak, brought all the way from France as a gift from the French president. Theories around the ceremony included a claim that Macron’s gift was a way to “troll” Trump over his decision to leave the Paris climate agreement.