A photo shared by Mike Pompeo on Twitter.
The United States’ top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, attacks China almost daily, but says his dog is not part of his campaign.
Pompeo raised his eyebrows at the social media tea leaf students when he posted a photo of his dog that looked ready to break a Winnie the Pooh toy.
“Mercer and all his favorite toys!” the canine-loving secretary of state tweeted from his personal account.
Mercer and all his favorite toys! ???? pic.twitter.com/bGal0ui6E2
– Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) July 15, 2020
Chinese social media users have frequently used the merry bear as a meme for President Xi Jinping, though the country’s painstaking censors have little sense of humor about it.
When asked in an interview on Wednesday if it was “Winnie the Pooh-gate,” Pompeo seemed oblivious.
“No, I imagine there were a number of stuffed animals, and they were distributed equally for Mercer’s benefit,” Pompeo told conservative Iowa radio host Simon Conway.
When told that the BBC had published a story reflecting on a deeper meaning, Pompeo laughed and said, “I haven’t seen that.”
The adorable but witty AA Milne bear with a weakness for honey was picked up as a meme after images of Xi were posted alongside the skinny former President of the United States, Barack Obama, who made comparisons to Winnie’s friend Tigger.
Since then, China has tried to remove the Internet meme accessible within the country, and Beijing in 2018 rejected the release of the Disney movie “Christopher Robin” starring Winnie.
Pompeo has defended a tough line against China, criticizing the communist leadership for denying freedom of expression, cracking down on Hong Kong and not stopping the coronavirus pandemic.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
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