President Donald Trump's first NATO gathering produced an unexpected viral moment when cameras captured him putting his hand on Montenegro's prime minister and moving past him as world leaders assembled for a group photograph.
The brief encounter lasted only seconds.
But Trump's unmistakable gesture — followed by the president stepping forward and adjusting his jacket — quickly attracted international attention.
The other man was Duško Marković, prime minister of Montenegro, a small Balkan country that was just days away from formally joining NATO.
The Moment Caught on Camera
NATO leaders were gathering together at the alliance's new headquarters in Brussels when the incident occurred.
Video showed Trump approaching the group from behind.
As he moved forward, Trump placed his hand on Marković and moved past him, taking a position closer to the front of the assembled leaders.
Trump then straightened his jacket and stood with the group.
The footage spread rapidly.
Some viewers characterized the gesture as a shove. Others saw it as an awkward but inconsequential attempt to move through a crowded group of leaders.
Whatever Trump's intention, the camera angle made the moment unusually conspicuous.
Marković Shrugs It Off
The man on the receiving end did not treat the encounter as a diplomatic incident.
Marković subsequently downplayed what happened, describing it as harmless and noting that leaders were positioning themselves for the photograph.
He indicated that he saw no reason for the brief encounter to overshadow the NATO meeting.
That context matters.
The video generated considerably more controversy among commentators and viewers than it apparently did between the two governments involved.
Montenegro Was About to Join NATO
There was also an irony to the attention surrounding Marković.
Montenegro wasn't simply another country attending the gathering.
It was on the verge of becoming NATO's newest member.
All 28 existing NATO members had ratified Montenegro's accession, and Marković participated in the Brussels meeting shortly before his country formally entered the alliance.
On June 5, Montenegro officially became NATO's 29th member.
For the small Balkan nation, NATO membership represented the culmination of a years-long effort to integrate more closely with Western institutions.
Yet for millions of people watching coverage of the Brussels meeting, their introduction to Montenegro's prime minister came through a few seconds of awkward video.
A NATO Meeting With Bigger Issues
The encounter occurred during a gathering dealing with issues far more consequential than positioning for a photograph.
NATO leaders discussed terrorism, Afghanistan and defense spending.
They agreed that NATO would become a full member of the international coalition fighting ISIS and established plans for allies to report annually on progress toward their defense-investment commitments.
Trump also pressed NATO members to increase defense spending.
The president had repeatedly criticized allies he believed were not contributing enough toward their own defense, making burden-sharing one of the central themes of his first NATO appearance.
The meeting also took place at NATO's new headquarters in Brussels, where Trump participated in the dedication of a memorial commemorating the September 11 attacks and NATO's Article 5 collective-defense commitment.
A Few Seconds Overshadow the Meeting
Diplomatic gatherings are carefully choreographed.
Where leaders stand, how they greet one another and even the order in which they enter rooms are usually planned in advance.
But cameras sometimes capture moments that become more memorable than the speeches and policy announcements surrounding them.
May 25, 2017 produced one of those moments.
Trump's interaction with Marković had no known diplomatic consequences, and Montenegro's prime minister himself dismissed the controversy.
But the image of the American president moving through a group of NATO leaders and then adjusting his jacket became one of the most widely circulated visual moments from Trump's first major NATO gathering.
For Montenegro, however, the far more consequential event was about to happen.
Eleven days later, the country officially joined the alliance whose leaders had been crowding together for that now-famous photograph.
Category: Foreign Policy
Tags: Donald Trump, Duško Marković, Montenegro, NATO, Brussels, NATO Summit, Foreign Policy, Europe, 2017