When you were a kid, did you parents ever tell you not to do something but you went ahead and did it anyway?
- Don't eat snacks before dinner. *Scoffs an entire pack of Maryland Cookies*
- Don't drink too much. *Strawpedos a bottle of Smirnoff Ice*
- Don't spend your student loan in one go. *Buys a £300 houseplant, just because.*
Fortunately for you, the repercussions of ignoring solid advice from those in the know didn't result in international political drama like it did for Donald Trump.
The Washington Post reports that the President of the US received a specific warning from his national security advisers on Tuesday which said not to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection. In fact, they couldn't have spelled it out for the politician any clearer.
'DO NOT CONGRATULATE,' the note reportedly read in all caps.
So what did Trump do?
He congratulated, but of course.
During a discussion with reporters in the Oval Office on the same day, he revealed that during a 'very good call' with Putin, he congratulated him on his reelection.
I mean, you had a note Donald. What more do you need?
The Post notes that it's unclear if Trump even read the memo (go figure), adding that he initiated the call with Putin and opened with a congratulations.
After news broke of Trump's faux pas, Senator John McCain criticised the Leader of the Free World, saying that 'an American president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections'.
You tell him, McCain.
However, the world soon realised that Trump's complete disregard of warnings for him not to do things could be used to our advantage.
After the news broke, people took to social media to tweet memes and their own words of advice at President Trump in the hope he'd do the exact opposite of what they instructed him to do.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to a question asking if the White House believed the Russian election was 'free and fair'.
'We don't get to dictate how other countries operate,' Sanders replied. 'What we do know is that Putin has been elected in their country, and that's not something that we can dictate to them how they operate.'
Here's another suggestion, Trump: 'Do not resign and apologise to Hillary Clinton.'
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
