Reuters
- President Trump on Tuesday addressed the Turning Point USA conservative youth group in Washington DC.
- The presidential seal displayed on a giant screen behind President Trump as he addressed the conference had been mysteriously doctored, to show what appeared to be a Russian imperial eagle clutching golf clubs.
- A spokesperson for Turning Point USA told the Washington Post that they didn't know how the symbol came to be shown behind the president, blaming it on a last minute audio visual mistake.
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After a 12 minute long video extolling his virtues as a leader, President Trump took to the stage at the Mariott Marquis Hotel in Washington DC Tuesday to deliver a speech to thousands of cheering young supporters at the Turning Point USA conference.
But as Trump stood enjoying the rapturous welcome, no one seemed to notice that there was something subtly different about the presidential seal that was being shown on the screen behind him.
Instead of the bald eagle that features in the official seal of the president of the United States, the image featured a double headed eagle, which bears a striking resemblance to the one on the official coat of arms of the Russian Federation.
The alteration seemed designed to poke fun at Trump over his administration's controversial ties to Russia, which US intelligence says interfered in the US election in a bid to secure Trump's election.
And instead of clutching arrows in its left claw, the eagle holds golf clubs - likely a not so subtle reference to the president's favorite hobby.
Here's a picture of the official US presidential seal.
Liaison Agency
Seal of the President of the United States.
Here's the Russian eagle, which has two heads and derives from the coat of arms of the Russians czars.
Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The Russian national symbol, a double headed eagle is seen covered by thick layer of snow in Moscow, Russia on December 6, 2018.
And here's the the mysteriously altered presidential seal that Trump spoke in front of Tuesday. The two headed eagle is clearly visible, as are the golf clubs on the lower right section of the fake seal.
Reuters
The circles show the parts of the presidential seal that were changed
The Washington Post first noticed the discrepancies. The White House told the publication that officials had not seen the image before Trump appeared on stage.
The Washington Post traced images online selling a similar fake seal where the US' Latin motto "E pluribus unum" which means "Out of many, one" has been replaced by the Spanish words: "45 es un titere." This roughly translates into English as: "45 is a puppet." 45 references Trump's status as the 45th president.
A spokesperson for Turning Point USA told the Washington Post that he didn't know where the image came from or how it ended up on a screen behind the president.
"It was a last-minute A/V [audio and visual] mistake - and I can't figure out where the breakdown was - but it was a last minute throw-up, and that's all it was," the spokesman told the Post.
"I can't figure out who did it yet," said the spokesperson.