Ah, the White House! The seat of power and dignity. Where presidents pause before every syllable, where journalists cross their legs like they belong to a ballet troupe, and where historical furniture sits with the silent patience of a butler who has seen it all—until, of course, Elon Musk's toddler son showed up!
There he was, the child in all his toddler glory, setting new records in diplomatic decorum—none of them good.
He spoke out of turn, interrupted important discussions, and let his tiny fingers explore the vast frontiers of his nostrils before generously wiping the results on a table that probably hosted the likes of Lincoln and Roosevelt.
One can well imagine a horrified but silent Secret Service agent contemplating whether to dive in front of the historic table like it was a slow-moving bullet.
Now, I'm all for the innocence of childhood. Who doesn't love a cherubic little one with wide, curious eyes and a giggle that melts hearts? But there's a fine line between 'childish charm' and wrecking an entire room's sense of decorum. Musk Jr. seemed to believe that the White House was merely an extension of his father's empire—where anything goes, including chaos.
But let's not be too harsh on the little one.
After all, is he really to blame? Toddlers, by nature, are tiny tyrants with the negotiation skills, as I've recently found, of a Modi-Trump meeting. They exist in a world where rules are howled out of existence, and disciplining is a gross violation of their basic human rights.
The real culprit, of course, is modern parenting. Once upon a time, a child in such a hallowed setting would be given 'The Look'—that piercing parental gaze that could stop a tank mid-charge. But today's tech-obsessed parents are too busy Facebooking their child's every move to issue a good old-fashioned reprimand. Instead, it must have been, "Oh wow, he just licked the Presidential Seal!"
And sadly, we live in an era where 'brashness' is mistaken for 'confidence.' If the toddler had stood on the table and declared he was revolutionising the furniture industry by smearing old furniture with the proceeds of his nose, half the room would have applauded.
If he had interrupted world leaders to insist that all official documents be written in emoji, someone might have proposed a committee to explore the idea.
So perhaps we should take this as a lesson.
Not everything loud is leadership.
Not every interruption is innovation.
And not every toddler needs to be encouraged to think he's the next big charmer when all he's actually destroying is a priceless piece of American history.
And if nothing else, maybe the White House should now consider equipping its meeting rooms with wet wipes, just in case such horrible episodes are going to be part of the new regime..!