this post was submitted on 07 May 2026
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Don't get me wrong. I like his politics but is it because I am European that I find this really cringe?
Edit: It's not the cycling but the fake smiles and waving like they haven't seen somebody for weeks
What's cringe about it? I watched with no sound, but it just appeared that he was having an event to promote bike riding. Was the dialog weird or something?
Caring about cringe is the real cringe.
It's not the cycling but the fake smiles and waving like they haven't seen somebody for weeks
It’s refreshing to see a politician putting something out there that’s rooted in positivity.
My European city went from being bike-friendly before it was cool to being unfriendly and is now bouncing back a little, so...
Lol this is social media. It's inherently cringe. You want me to pull up some European examples?
Hey man, don't take it personally, it's just a different perspective.
I mean it's not a different perspective is the point of the comment, politicians are cringe everywhere.
Yeah to us he is just doing something that we see every day and we are supposed to find it appealing...
Over there seeing a politician on a bike is a novelty, thats the sad reality.
For me, it's not the cycling but the fake smiles and waving like they haven't seen somebody for weeks
Well, it's specifically a novelty for politicians in MAJOR cities. Small towns (and even plenty smaller cities) have mayors with real civic engagement.
Fun anecdote from an unspecified Chicago suburb: My coworker and I always made small talk with the same guy in line at our Friday lunch spot. One day after getting his food he turned around and said (paraphrased), "Hey...did you see the proposal to repave [street] with a bricks? It will be so expensive and harder to maintain! Aahh! All right gotta run!"
We looked at each other like wtf then the shop owner said, "you know that's the mayor, right?" Nope, we sure didn't!
I would never want to live in that town specifically (wealthy but with an inferiority complex because of wealthier neighboring cities lol) but I love civic leaders who practice what they preach