Apparently President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron are so tight that the American leader calls the European leader “bro.”
Cameron himself confirmed the news, according to a report in the Telegraph and added that their relationship is indeed close, in public and behind closed doors. It’s no secret that Cameron is a big fan of Obama and this has translated in a comfortable ease.
“The President has said the special relationship is stronger than it has ever been privately and in public and I agree.”
During this time of international uncertainty, especially following the recent terrorist attacks in France and other parts of the world, Obama certainly needs the support of one of the United States’ oldest allies. The fact that the American President refers to his British counter part as “bro” may come as a surprise to some.
During an in-depth interview with the Daily Mail in which Cameron discussed everything from the upcoming elections, to the role his wife, Samantha, plays on his tough decisions and how they keep their marriage going after almost 20 years, Cameron revealed the familiarity that now exists between himself and Obama.
It is well documented that previous leaders George W. Bush and Tony Blair had a close relationship as they faced tough situations stemming from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., but Bush used to say, “Yo, Blair, what are you doing?” at times. The fact that Obama, who many see as disconnected from the world, has such a close personal relationship with Cameron, enough to use the very loose term “bro” in private conversation, is comforting.
Through their years in office — Obama since 2008 and Cameron since 2010 — and considering they stand on different sides of the aisle — Obama is a liberal and Cameron a staunch conservative — it is unusual that the two men would have such close relationship. In Bush and Blair’s case, they both belonged to the conservative party in their respective countries.
Despite the closeness between the two world leaders some in the British media — as this piece in the Guardian indicates — some don’t see it as much of a compliment for their somewhat unpopular Prime Minister.
“The classification of bros, it should be noted, is always context-specific. In Silicon Valley they take the form of skinny brogrammers, in New York they’re frat boys turned investment bankers, and in the U.K. they’re a douchebaggy evolution of ‘lads.’ But despite these geographic variations, a ‘bro’ tends to signify an unapologetically obnoxious and casually misogynistic white male who hangs out with a homogeneous group of other ‘bros.’ This last point is important: the ‘bro’ is a pack animal and thrives only in the company of others like himself. The other key point is that the modern ‘bro’ is usually white; like ‘d*****bag,’ the word has acquired a clear racial component.”
What do you think about Obama calling Cameron a “bro?” Is it a big deal, or who cares?
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