Eh. It's tacky, for sure.

I'm willing to opine that the main reason this photo(shop) doesn't register much shock or disgust for me, and maybe you, and probably other people to boot, is because it's so completely on par with the rest of Trump's behavior this whole presidency.

If Trump needed to instigate some shock value across the American public he would have to open his mouth and speak, suddenly, full articulate sentences without using any made-up words OR repeating any particular pet phrases three times in a row. Or fully divest himself from all his business interests as of today. Or delete his Twitter account, or something.

I can't help but wonder how differently a tweet like this might be received if it was a female politician posting. I do feel this is tacky and gauche for a president to post, regardless of gender. I suspect there would be more backlash about "appropriateness" and a perceived loss of respect for the politicienne in this hypothetical scenario than there has been for Trump. (I doubt this post has elicited much if any media attention, frankly, as it's just yet another mildly embarrassing Trump tweet, lost among an endless sea.) I wish he'd pop an Ambien and post a full Roseanne one of these days.

How bad would a Trump tweet have to be for his crazy show of a presidency to get cancelled?

Back to the gender thing -- it seems to me that men are able to retain an air of authority and a perception of respect without a shirt on -- no question! A shirtless man is strong and manly. He is an epitome, an ideal. If a woman posted the same it would be an active injury to her perceived credibility and "seriousness" or commitment to her job. It's funny that a topless, nipple-baring picture can somehow lend a male politician a perception of strength and power while, take a lady, slap a sports bra on, post a picture and all of a sudden you'd get people asking "how much self-inflicted damage has she done here?" because god forbid voters know that an actual midriff exists underneath the Calvin Klein skirtsuit or Chanel twinset and compression-top pantyhose -- black -- that keeps us, the public, from confusing a woman with authority in power with, well...just any old weak regular hormonal prone-to-crying-fits woman.

Woo, I really went off track here. Just a load of my ramblin' thoughts, pardon me :)