Taking a break from the politics of the G20 Summit in Australia, President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin posed for photos Saturday holding a cuddly looking koala.
Obama was photographed grinning widely while holding Jimbelung,
a koala who “may be the star of the G20,” the Sydney Morning Herald said.
Despite many political happenings, the Morning Herald pointed out that Jimbelung dominated the U.S. news shows on Sunday.
“In fact, if Americans watched 'Meet the Press' and 'This Week' they'd think the G20 was an Australian wildlife meet-and-greet,” the newspaper wrote.
"This week we saw President Obama mingling with world leaders, but more importantly koalas at the G20 summit in Australia," the Morning Herald quoted “This Week” host Martha Raddatz. "Even Vladimir Putin got in on it."
Obama’s big smile apparently appealed to some people.
One woman wrote on an ABC story, “I may not agree with everything the President believes or does, but anyone who is that happy and excited to be holding a koala (or any animal) has a wonderful heart. I like him just a little bit more now.”
ABC said Jimbelung is being moved to a new home in Japan, a gift from a Brisbane wildlife park. Although several media articles reported that Jimbelung means “friend” in Japanese, a commenter on the ABC article said it does not. Inputting the word into online translators did not pull it up as meaning “friend,” or in fact, as translating to anything at all.
Related Stories:
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.