Obama-era White House photographer Pete Souza recently used zero words to call out Donald Trump. Instead, he quietly posted a photo he took during the Obama presidency.
For folks across the internet, that image of calmer past days was enough to convey how chaotic leadership has become under the current President.
On June 1, Trump declared his willingness to use the U.S. Military to clamp down on nationwide nonviolent protests that were sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department.
Moments after Trump's speech, federal authorities fired teargas at peaceful demonstrators outside the White House. The crowd, of course, dispersed.
Trump then sauntered across the cleared street, stood in front of St. John's Church, held a bible, and posed for some photos.
Since that stunt, countless voices in government, religious life, and the military have come forward to criticize the President's conduct.
Pete Suoza, President Barack Obama's White House photographer, joined that list of detractors with the following photo, which he posted to his Instagram.
Lafayette Square Park was the place where those nonviolent protesters were gathered and dispersed with tear gas.
St. John's Church, of course, was the backdrop for Trump's bible-toting photo. Trump did not enter the church after the photo. Souza followers had no trouble catching his drift.
They clearly grasped the contrast the photographer aimed to display.
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The Obama family walk to church was not the only photo of yesteryear that Souza has chosen to share.
Earlier this week, Souza posted another Obama-era image.
That post included a caption that put a much finer point on the contrast between leaders:
"Not that long ago at St. John's Church. No teargas was needed to get there."
And again, Instagram took that opportunity to slam Trump and praise Obama too.
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People in Washington D.C, and many other cities across the country, have continued to flood the streets and demand that their local police departments face greater accountability for historically racist practices that have regularly committed violence on black and brown people.
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