Former White House photographer Pete Souza has used his Instagram account to troll President Donald Trump before, and this time he reposted a 2014 photo of then-President Barack Obama being greeted by then-Vice President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker John Boehner to show Trump how a State of the Union address should be conducted. Souza's jabs at Trump have been well documented; we expect no less from the author of SHADE: A Tale of Two Presidents.
“Back when our President was big enough to get along with a Speaker of the House from the opposition party and with whom he had major policy disagreements,” Souza wrote.
People loved it, noting the photograph served as a sign of warmer times in American politics.
Souza's post came shortly after the president caved to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's request that he postpone his State of the Union address until after the government shutdown—now in its 34th day—is over.
“I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber until government has opened," Pelosi wrote yesterday in a letter to the president.
Trump later announced he would delay the address in messages he posted to his Twitter account.
"I look forward to giving a 'great' State of the Union Address in the near future!" he wrote in part.
Trump's tweets gave Pelosi the opportunity to demand he endorse the House-passed package to end the shutdown. The Senate will vote on the package today, though it is not expected to pass.
Souza's response is not new: Trump's tumultuous presidency (and notoriously thin skin) has often inspired his Instagram posts.
Last month, during the peak of holiday festivities, Souza used a picture of Obama dancing during a Christmas celebration to needle the current president.
He later shared a 2010 photo of the Obama family on stage with celebrities at TNT's "Christmas in Washington"
Both times, Souza accompanied his captions with the hashtag #throwshadethenvote, which he's used since the release of his book, SHADE: A Tale of Two Presidents.
"I have been distressed by the barrage of lies and hateful comments emanating from the current administration on a daily basis," Souza said in May 2018 as he announced he would release the book. "We have a president who clearly does not understand democracy and the rule of law. To him, a critical news story is fake news, and our intelligence agencies are all corrupt. His presidency has become a reality game show, with his primal need to achieve ratings and wins—for himself. He does not respect women, minorities and immigrants."
He added: "I have worked for two presidents in my life—one Republican (Reagan) and one Democrat (Obama). I spent almost every day with President Obama during his two terms, watching how hard he worked on behalf of all Americans. He was—and still is—someone who respected people from all walks of life. He made decisions based on facts. He respected democracy and the rule of law. Unlike his successor, he respected the office of the presidency."
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