In anticipation of the Trump-Putin meeting set to take place tomorrow, June 15, Finland placed strategic billboards and banners with special messages for President Trump, detailed Newshub .
At the arrivals terminal at the airport, there’s a giant billboard that reads, “Mr President, welcome to the land of free press.” This one could arguably apply to both Trump and Putin. There’s a three-story version of the same billboard at the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper headquarters, who are believed to be the mastermind behind the protest messages.
Banners throughout the city also say things like “Trump calls media enemy of the people,” and bus stops have signs sponsored by the newspaper that read “Media-critiquing Trump has changed the meaning of fake news.”
At Finlayson, a clothing chain, there’s a banner that says “Welcome to Finland, President Trump… We are slightly worried. The goal of politics is to make the world as good as possible. For everyone. Please, make good decisions… P.S. Since we consider all people equal, the First Lady gets the same discount as everybody else. Welcome!
Also at the Rock Paper Scissors microbrewery in Kuopio, people can enjoy a commemorative Trump-Putin beer called “Let’s Settle This Like Adults.” The label has the two presidents playing rock paper scissors, and the chief executive Samuli Huutanen said, “Naturally we don’t offer this as a first solution for problem solving, but if there is a danger of a dead end, this is a guaranteed way to solve issues.”
Russian text also litters the city, with special messaging placed throughout for Putin. Some also hail the importance of free speech, whereas one hotel placed a banner that says, “Keep peace,” reported Xihua Net News .
Finland is not new to hosting U.S.-Russia summits, as Helsinki has been the meeting place on numerous occasions since 1975.
The meeting between Trump and Putin has reached a high level of anticipation and tension, as days before the planned meeting, the U.S. announced indictments against 12 Russian officials on charges of election tampering.
While top Democrats call for the meeting to be canceled altogether, Trump has expressed that he plans to attend the meeting anyway. The latest update from Trump on the issue is that he “hadn’t thought” about bringing up the allegations of election interference by Russians. He also stated that he has “low expectations,” and that “I’ll let you know after the meeting” about goals for the meeting, according to the NY Post .
Finnish paper’s billboard in Helsinki #Helsinki2018 #TrumpPutinSummit via @ReettaRaty @hsfi https://t.co/Bw2tzCCiyu pic.twitter.com/8JfZqdI1I9
— Journalisti (@Journalisti) July 14, 2018
Moreover, Trump is being criticized for blaming the Russian meddling on Obama, and most lately on the DNC. He said that “I think the DNC should be ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to be hacked… They had bad defenses and they were able to be hacked.”
Trump has also been accused of not being prepared well enough to meet with Putin. It’s hard to know for sure, but the Finnish people at least did prepare: the presence of the billboards and banners, though they may or may not be seen by the two presidents directly, are likely known to the two presidents.