Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin raises a troubling possibility: What if Barack Obama is too normcore to be a world leader?

"Look, the perception of Obama, of him and his potency across the world is one of such weakness," Palin told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "People are looking at Putin as one who wrestles bears and drills for oil. They look at our president as one who wears mom jeans and equivocates and bloviates."

Putin, who is at least a decade behind mainstream relevant trends, understands normcore—the fashion craze sweeping the nation—as basic, not as advanced alternative. In the Russian president's eyes, Obama isn't an anti-fashion trend-setter but a middle-American tourist. Unable to globally project his post-internet post-thrifting vision of minimalist networked aesthetics, Obama finds American interests in Eastern Europe compromised. Wearing athletic slippers and stonewashed jeans might be normcore—but is it presidential?

[image via Getty]