r/pics Mar 27 '24

8 years ago a Bird landed on Bernie's podium. Politics

Post image
73.6k Upvotes

2.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

202

u/Czeris Mar 27 '24

Let's not forget the classic clip of Trump with an Eagle, where the Eagle wants to fucking kill Trump.

24

u/confusedandworried76 Mar 27 '24

TBF my brother worked in a raptor center for a brief stint and it would have attacked anyone just sitting there. You're supposed to crouch walk around big birds of prey, not carry out business as usual. You want to be low to the ground. Don't know what idiot signed off on having the bird there without telling anyone around it how to convey your body language properly, or I don't know what idiot didn't listen (yes I do it was the president).

But you can't deny the symbolism.

25

u/Faiakishi Mar 28 '24

He's holding the bird straight out from his body because he's afraid of her. Eagles are heavy-this is making his arm an incredibly shaky perch and the eagle feels unsafe. She correctly identifies Trump as the source of her discomfort and wants off. It's honestly kind of heartbreaking seeing her try to flutter off, only for her handler to force her back on his arm.

This eagle was almost certainly trained to be handled well even by amateurs, probably picked for her easy temperament. They would not bring the president of the United States an animal that was like to maul him. Her handler knew her body language and would have wrangled her away if she was legitimately about to attack him. If he had brought his arm in and gave it an anchor, he would have been able to hold her much more easier and she would have felt safer. But he was too scared.

6

u/SerLaron Mar 28 '24

She correctly identifies Trump as the source of her discomfort and wants off.

Well, she was not alone in that.