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Is anyone here from a country NOT called USA where they pile up a bunch of people in the background of a politician who then gets applause for everything?
I have literally never seen this in Europe. In Germany, we'd probably consider this "weird" in case our politicians did that. Feels a bit like clicking the thumbs-up button of my own social media post...
In Germany, we’d probably consider this “weird” in case our politicians did that.
I mean, he was weird...
You could tell by his ridiculous moustache and hair
Holy watermark! Alamy!
Alamy Not sure Alamy what you're talking Alamy about, I see Alamy nothing wrong Alamy.
Way more important. You treat your politician as celebrities. You need to see them guilty until proven otherwise!
People should never treat politicians as icons celebrities. They are there to work for us. Be please or angered by their policies and decision making, but charisma should not be a factor.
Here in the UK I saw so much of this with Boris Johnson, and still with Farage. I knew a people people who liked Johnson because he's a bit of a laugh, likeable, whatever. They did not go into reasons of what a politician should be doing. Only his character.
Honestly I am a bit of a Merkel fan. She did not stand for the politics I vote for but she was a politician I liked. It was never about her. She didn't had ego at least to us. This is what admired. It was always just the topic and her intellect made her shine
Same is true with Obama but he had an ego bigger than usa
We consider this weird in Germany for good reasons. You know, historical precedent and stuff.
We used to consider it weird here too. There was this initiative called No Child Left Behind that was put into place by George W. Bush which pushed kids through school whether they had the grades to pass or not. Since then, the curriculum changed several times, each time, getting simpler than the last. They systematically dumbed down the American people and now we have a population with little to no critical thinking and a primary school reading level as the average. Also, out of all that, the loudest in the room is often the dumbest, so the bar is so low, you don't even have to worry about tripping on it. I really hope this new trend to encourage reading takes.
no its a cult thing
Trump has always paid people to be in rallys. This goes back to his first suggestion of running for President and paying some losers to show up to Trump tower.
You got your fascism in my cult!
No! You got your cult in my fascism!
I know you asked for non-USA opinions, but as someone from the USA, I have always thought this was weird. Not only are they either fake or paid or self-centered extreme fans, but they got to sign away their "show up on TV and photos" rights, all for the privilege of looking at Trump's ass while he speaks. Worst seat in the house.
Regardless of who's speaking, I always end up staring at the people sitting/standing behind them. Some part of me is waiting for them to break character, I think.
It's a fascism thing.
Obama noticed a lady fainting behind him during a speech.
Wow. Doesn't comment on the person about to faint. Doesn't make a sexist or otherwise rude comment. Doesn't make him the centre of the situation. In fact the opposite drops a joke about himself being boring.
Imagine how twat head Trump would deal with that.
UK, prime minister speeches are usually done in the street in front of their house. Sometimes you might see Larry the cat in the background
Sometimes you might see Larry the cat
I should watch more PM speeches
They happen fairly often - usually when one resigns or gets the job. Every year or so.
If Larry bothers to turn up and engage you know shits going down.
We had this with a couple of our recent PMs (and other cosplayers) who were desperate to turn the UK into the 51st State. Boris Johnson was repeatedly reprimanded for doing this using actual public servants - standing in front of a crown of police officers or nurses and delivering a political manifesto instead of the agreed government announcement.
Completely staged. That’s why we don’t take it seriously in the US.
Swiss politics are generally way less people-focussed. Heck, I don't even know who our president is currently. So this would be very ridiculous here.
It's the logic of TV. It's like when a sitcom has a laugh track in order to seem funnier. They have no sense of talent, no ideas, nothing, so they gotta use an advertising department to get people on board with their bullshit.
Cons in Canada have taken to doing this shit as well. It's fucking embarassing to see, but not surprising.
They think showing support for their political side is the same as showing support for the sports team they like and what do people in the stands at a sports game do? Clap.
It shows that a lot of people don't know what the hell is going on and they're just there to be there thinking that'll show hyper support for their party and they'll have something to talk about.
It also shows that a lot of people view this as entertainment and forget about the ramifications of the outcomes of their choices with politics.
I sorta view it like the, "stupid people notice shiny objects," thing.
I can see why Germany would not be receptive of large political rallies based on recent history. The same should be the case in the US. But yet here we are.
Top observation haha never thought about it but it is super weird
It’s like a laugh track on bad sitcoms. It tells you what you’re supposed to do. It’s especially effective for those who’ve turned off their brain, like when watching other rotten TV.
In Germany we have party members piled in the front and they have to clap when Merz tells something that is supposed to be funny but really isnt.
It's America. They are "special".
Very USA-based. In Australia, we'd be giving him the finger, shouting, and probably throwing Vegemite sandwiches at him. No, that wasn't an exaggeration. Someone once threw a vegemite sandwich at former Prime Minister Julia Gillard. And someone once hit professional dickhead, Fraser Anning, with an egg.
Also in Australia, it's usually a couple of noddies standing behind the politician as he or she waffles on. Often different people each time, the noddies stand and nod when the politician makes a point the politician wants people to see is right. Noddies probably influence a lot more elections in Australia than people think.
Heads up: we also clap when the plane lands.
Well, given Boeing's recent track record...
Probably from a local church. He's been playing to very sparse audiences. Not as bad as the crowd for Melatonin's crappy movie, but damn near.
I don't think I've ever seen a politician getting applauded regularily, outside maybe of a talkshow setting. And not during a speech, maybe at the end when they finished. They also don't really take center stage to give big speeches all that often. And having 7 presidents means less cult of personality.
It mostly looks like 
This is one of the presidents giving a press conference, with several experts/advisors next to him (and more experts in the front row, should more specific questions come up). The rest are journalists. I'd say press conferences make up the majority of appearances, so there's no crowds/"fans". Heck even the concept of a fan of one of the presidents sounds weird. Maybe for the parties, but I have never heard of anyone being a fan of one of the presidents.
Then there's other events, but even for national day celebration speeches, it's nothing crazy, this has some pictures of several of the presidents giving various national day speeches last year. No people in the background. But then I don't think most people really watch any of this, so why bother?
This happens in Canada as well. The way I see it is it's supposed to show support for the candidate in question.
Did you see when Netanyahu addressed the US Congress while busy with his genocide in Gaza. He got 58 standing ovations from his puppets in Congress.
Sick brainwashed society.
The usa has always been good at propaganda. If they focused all their energy on making the world better instead of keeping the propaganda machine running it would probably be cheaper.
