US presidents are obsessed with sharks. From President Nixon asking the Secret Service to put in shark nets around his Florida holiday house to former President Trump tweeting that "sharks are last on my list." Sharks are an apex obsession. To explore the interactions between 10 presidents and the sharks they conserve or hate, the United States Studies Centre hosted a talk with University of Sydney Senior Lecturer in Public Policy Dr Christopher Pepin-Neff.
Starting with Washington and ending with Trump, Dr Pepin-Neff discussed the role of sharks in building up myths and legends around presidents, the masculinity that comes with fighting sharks, and the statesmanship of protecting these fierce fish.
