Beware the awkwardness of someone's credit denied. Imagine Superman, all righteous and kiss-curl-dangling, saving Earth from being sucked inside-out by an artificial black hole created by his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor. Before he can give the Daily Planet an exclusive sound bite, 'Earthlings, last week, I decided to take action against...'
...Batman prances by, coolly saying that he saved the world from total destruction, and 'Gee, it was really nothing'. What makes it worse is the smooth hijacking from a fellow superhero. It would have been easier if it was some supervillain - The Joker, Thanos, Asim Munir, or even Lex Luthor himself - taking credit for saving the world. But because Batman and Superman are 'very good friends', what's Superman gonna do? Shout from the rooftops and denounce his superpal for lying through his bleached teeth?
Trumpman's multiple claims since last Sunday - that the US mediated the ceasefire (NO, it's 'stoppage of fire'!) between India and Pakistan - have been rejected multiple times by Narendra Modi's government. But it hasn't helped that each time the Indians have said, 'No, boss. Trumpman is wrong.'
India's MEA has gone to moderate pains to tell everyone, 'Please chronology samajhiye: request for a call from the Pakistani director general of military operations (DGMO) to the Indian DGMO was received by India's MEA from the Pakistan High Commission at 1237 hours last Saturday. The Pakistani side had initial difficulties connecting the hotline for technical reasons. The timing was then decided based on the availability of the Indian DGMO at 1535 hours.'
This was the spirited, inside-of-the-cheek-chewing, controlled denial that anyone had mediated between the two fighting sides. As if getting the bad guys to stop wasn't a challenge enough, now there's this additional irritant of being denied credit for stopping the bad guys. Just to be sure that stenos got the message, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, 'Let me be clear. It was the force of Indian arms that compelled Pakistan to stop its firing.' That was last Tuesday.
The very next day, addressing US military personnel in Qatar, Trumpman said, 'I don't wanna say I did, but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week...' Jaiswal had to be cringing when he heard that on loop. 'Did the man not get the memo?!'
To add pent-up vexation to awkward injury, Trumpman had continued, 'And we talked to them about trade. Let's do trade instead of war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that, and I think they are on the way... Boy, everybody was very happy, I'll tell you.' This, a day after India had clarified that conversations 'between Indian and US leaders' had been on since Op Sindoor commenced and the understanding ('NOT agreement!) on 'cessation of military action' had been reached, and that the 'issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions'. I'm not big on binaries, but someone has to be lying.
Now, Modi and Trump are bound to meet again somewhere, some sunny day. India can't afford to keep looking flabbergasted -- let alone cheesed off - by Trumpman's 'Make Trade, Not War' free-jazz, hippie spiel. That's probably why everyone but Modi has taken their time out of their busy schedules to contradict Trumpman's claim.
But boyoboyo-boy, will that Modi-Trump meeting somewhere, some sunny day, be awkward. Think of the guy who hears his own most effective, wonderfully-rehearsed dinner party anecdote being told by his buddy from across the table.
The thing is, showing that Trumpman's claims rankle would be doubly-embarrassing. I mean, who loudly accuses someone of stealing one's punchline without seeming petty? The awkward situation falls under a new level of 'plausible deniability'.
The American president could well tell the Indian PM when they do meet - after avoiding eye contact for the first half-hour across the dance floor - 'What? Mediation? I said that?! I musta meant meditation! Yes, beautiful, beautiful meditation. Meditation is beautiful.'
And that's the trouble when some people call everyone a 'very good friend'. Not every good friend of theirs is friendly with each other, you see.
...Batman prances by, coolly saying that he saved the world from total destruction, and 'Gee, it was really nothing'. What makes it worse is the smooth hijacking from a fellow superhero. It would have been easier if it was some supervillain - The Joker, Thanos, Asim Munir, or even Lex Luthor himself - taking credit for saving the world. But because Batman and Superman are 'very good friends', what's Superman gonna do? Shout from the rooftops and denounce his superpal for lying through his bleached teeth?
Trumpman's multiple claims since last Sunday - that the US mediated the ceasefire (NO, it's 'stoppage of fire'!) between India and Pakistan - have been rejected multiple times by Narendra Modi's government. But it hasn't helped that each time the Indians have said, 'No, boss. Trumpman is wrong.'
India's MEA has gone to moderate pains to tell everyone, 'Please chronology samajhiye: request for a call from the Pakistani director general of military operations (DGMO) to the Indian DGMO was received by India's MEA from the Pakistan High Commission at 1237 hours last Saturday. The Pakistani side had initial difficulties connecting the hotline for technical reasons. The timing was then decided based on the availability of the Indian DGMO at 1535 hours.'
This was the spirited, inside-of-the-cheek-chewing, controlled denial that anyone had mediated between the two fighting sides. As if getting the bad guys to stop wasn't a challenge enough, now there's this additional irritant of being denied credit for stopping the bad guys. Just to be sure that stenos got the message, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, 'Let me be clear. It was the force of Indian arms that compelled Pakistan to stop its firing.' That was last Tuesday.
The very next day, addressing US military personnel in Qatar, Trumpman said, 'I don't wanna say I did, but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week...' Jaiswal had to be cringing when he heard that on loop. 'Did the man not get the memo?!'
To add pent-up vexation to awkward injury, Trumpman had continued, 'And we talked to them about trade. Let's do trade instead of war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that, and I think they are on the way... Boy, everybody was very happy, I'll tell you.' This, a day after India had clarified that conversations 'between Indian and US leaders' had been on since Op Sindoor commenced and the understanding ('NOT agreement!) on 'cessation of military action' had been reached, and that the 'issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions'. I'm not big on binaries, but someone has to be lying.
Now, Modi and Trump are bound to meet again somewhere, some sunny day. India can't afford to keep looking flabbergasted -- let alone cheesed off - by Trumpman's 'Make Trade, Not War' free-jazz, hippie spiel. That's probably why everyone but Modi has taken their time out of their busy schedules to contradict Trumpman's claim.
But boyoboyo-boy, will that Modi-Trump meeting somewhere, some sunny day, be awkward. Think of the guy who hears his own most effective, wonderfully-rehearsed dinner party anecdote being told by his buddy from across the table.
The thing is, showing that Trumpman's claims rankle would be doubly-embarrassing. I mean, who loudly accuses someone of stealing one's punchline without seeming petty? The awkward situation falls under a new level of 'plausible deniability'.
The American president could well tell the Indian PM when they do meet - after avoiding eye contact for the first half-hour across the dance floor - 'What? Mediation? I said that?! I musta meant meditation! Yes, beautiful, beautiful meditation. Meditation is beautiful.'
And that's the trouble when some people call everyone a 'very good friend'. Not every good friend of theirs is friendly with each other, you see.
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