French President Emmanuel Macron gifted President Donald Trump a small tree on Monday—and gifted the internet with a meme.
Macron presented the tree during his visit to the U.S. as a reminder of the “ties that bind” Americans to the French, Macron tweeted. The tree comes from Belleau Wood, the site of a battle in World War I where “more than 9,000 American soldiers died,” according to the Hill.
Videos and photos show Trump and Macron shoveling dirt on the already partially-planted tree on the South Lawn of the White House as their wives, Melania and Brigitte, watch.
100 years ago, American soldiers fought in France, in Belleau to defend our freedom. This oak tree (my gift to @realDonaldTrump) will be a reminder at the White House of these ties that bind us. pic.twitter.com/AUdVncaKRN
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) April 24, 2018
The scene has already become wildly popular on Twitter.
Maybe the bulk of the image’s comedy stems from the extravagant outfits of the couples. Maybe it’s the image of Trump doing some good old yard work. Maybe it’s the way the first lady is standing. We can speculate, but what we know for sure is that the scene is fertile meme material.
https://twitter.com/FexMix/status/988683975978872832
[hushed David Attenborough voiceover] watch as the siberian tangerine troglodyte spends a rare few seconds engaged in actual labor pic.twitter.com/o1ZMNv4pvh
— shauna (@goldengateblond) April 23, 2018
#climatChange pic.twitter.com/rwNHnNwchf
— M. Paul (@Paulo_Carasau) April 24, 2018
The photo has undeniable cinematic qualities.
which pink floyd album is this pic.twitter.com/a0uQx6rsNp
— Hunter Lurie (@hunterlurie) April 23, 2018
Previously in Desperate housewives pic.twitter.com/Oc8i0PsvNw
— Antoine Kacem Mokrane (@AntoineMokrane) April 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/mollypriddy/status/988620976471490560
The new Sopranos season is the best pic.twitter.com/IAgj3gLvm3
— Mathieu von Rohr (@mathieuvonrohr) April 24, 2018
This totally looks like the promo picture for a new Netflix series. https://t.co/tq26v07DuF
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 23, 2018
Some theorists on Twitter said the tree could have been Macron’s way to troll Trump for opposing the Paris Climate Accord, BuzzFeed reported.
Macron bringing Trump a tree as a gift is the PERFECT way to troll him over leaving the Paris Climate Agreement. pic.twitter.com/GhfRDgBTIy
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) April 24, 2018
Regardless of Macron’s intentions with his gift, the picture makes a pretty good meme. Or album cover. Or Netflix ad. Or whatever.
H/T BuzzFeed