Say you are in a crowd and either Obama or Trump suddenly comes by - or you are a restaurant/shop owner and Obama or Trump come in all of a sudden. You are within just a few feet of the President (or ex-President); maybe they are trying to shake your hand with all the other people in line or in the crowd, maybe they are here to buy something from your store, etc. (Gore was known to do some breakfast shopping of his own in person during his days as a candidate, and Obama sometimes went touring the streets and buying food himself in Montreal (or some other Canadian city) while abroad as president.)
What would you do or say?
(Serious answers please, not “I’d drop my pants and blow a wet fart.”)
Edit: You can also apply this thread question to any other living ex-President as well - Carter, Clinton, or Bush Jr. - thread not limited to Obama and Trump only.
Obama’s first foreign trip as president was to Canada: specifically Ottawa. After meeting with Prime Minister Harper the President had his entourage drive to a bakery in the downtown market area where he bought some cookies to take home. There are selfies of him and staff posted in the bakery. He was basically just in and out.
A couple of years ago Obama and Trudeau got together for a beer in a brew pub just down the street from me in West Ottawa, which I frequent. Again there are some selfies of staff posing with him and Trudeau on the walls. From what I heard talking to the bartender the pub was closed to the public while they were there and apart from the selfies the staff just left them alone. That’s probably what I would do too, but I’d be tempted to ask if I could snap a selfie.
Whoops. I misremembered in a big way. For some reason I recalled it as Obama strolling down downtown Montreal, catching people by surprise. :smack: :smack:
“Thank you for your service. Your election will forever serve as a reminder to me that this country is capable of taking strides towards the more perfect Union our founders envisioned”
…
“Go fuck yourself, you Russian stooge.”
In my job I’m around a lot of celebrities and politicians, and unless I have a reason to interact with them I just leave them be. There are a few public figures who I would be tempted to engage with, but I’ve never worked with any of them. And none are politicians. But I have two anecdotes on this topic…
The first was a few years ago when I was introduced to a state governor. He was coming through a facility I was working at for the day and it turned out he knew one of our bosses. This all happened quickly and before I knew it I was in a sort of receiving line to meet him. Had I known, I would have made myself scarce because I considered this governor an odious person. But I summoned up my professionalism, shook his hand and said hello. Then I found the nearest restroom and washed up. I actually felt tarnished.
The other story is one of my friend’s favorites - I’ll call him Bob Smith. He’s well known in our field and often does speeches and presentations. One day he was to give a talk at a conference and was riding up in the elevator when he realized he was standing next to a super famous movie star known to be an enthusiast in our profession. Bob is also accustomed to being around celebrities and simply stood there expressionless. At which point the super famous movie star turned and excitedly said, “Excuse me… aren’t you Bob Smith?!”
If I saw Trump, I’d say “Thank you for your service to the country. It must be very stressful dealing with so much irrational hatred from people who have never even met you.”
If I met Obama, I would say, “Nice to meet you, sir” because I am not the kind of person who would be disrespectful to a POTUS even when I totally disagree with him.
If by some misfortune I was near Trump I’d stay as quiet and invisible as possible because I have no desire to be touched - whether by handshake, hug, or pussygrab - by someone I have always considered loathsome.
I already bumped into Obama. Granted, it was much earlier in his career when he was still unknown outside Illinois. I said a polite hello when I recognized him. We exchanged pleasantries. He asked if I had voted for him. I said no, living in Indiana that would not be proper but said that if he ran for an office where I could vote for him I’d certainly consider it.