‘Petty or Racist?’ Former White House Photographer Bashes Trump for Moving Obama Portrait Out of Sight
Official White House photo by Pete Souza.
Pete Souza, the former Chief Official White House Photographer, wrote a post on Instagram Tuesday bashing President Donald Trump for what he deemed a “pretty petty” move to hide former President Barack Obama’s portrait.
Souza served as White House photographer for President Ronald Reagan and Obama, along with a nine-year stint as a photographer with the Chicago Tribune’s Washington, D.C. bureau and as a freelancer for National Geographic and Life magazines. He has published several books with collections of his photographs of presidents and earned widespread recognition for several famous photos, including the May 1, 2011 scene in the Situation Room on May 1, 2011 as Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and other key national security advisers, watching live updates on SEAL Team Six’s mission that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
After Trump was inaugurated in 2017, Souza often used his Instagram account to post critical commentary about him, often by sharing a photo and anecdote about Obama to make a comparison that was unflattering to the current occupant of the White House.
Souza’s post on Tuesday fit this trend, as he shared a photo of Obama and his wife Michelle Obama descending the Grand Staircase in the White House, portraits of Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman visible on the walls.
Screenshot via @petesouza on Instagram.
“There is a longstanding protocol/tradition where the portraits of former Presidents are hung,” wrote Souza, with the portraits rotated through public areas of the White House as each new president’s term starts, “so visitors during the White House public tours would see the most recent Presidents.”
But Trump had moved Obama’s portrait to a “hidden area at the top of the Grand Staircase,” wrote Souza, where “it cannot be seen publicly on White House tours and cannot be seen by the White House staff.”
“Petty or racist?” Souza pondered. “Why was this done? Was it because President Obama lives rent free in the current occupant’s head? I’d say that’s pretty petty.”
“Or could there be another reason?” he concluded.
The full caption of Souza’s post read:
Petty or racist?
There is a longstanding protocol/tradition where the portraits of former Presidents are hung. The most recent ones are displayed in the Grand Foyer, then the Cross Hall, then the Grand Staircase, in that order. They are all prominently displayed so visitors during the White House public tours would see the most recent Presidents. (Other portraits like Lincoln and Washington are displayed prominently in the State Dining Room and East Room.)
During President Obama’s administration, for instance, the portraits of Presidents Bush 43 and Clinton hung in the Grand Foyer. The portraits of President Bush 41, Reagan, Carter, Ford and Kennedy were hung along the Cross Hall. (I never did figure out where Nixon went.) On the Grand Staircase, shown in this photo, were portraits of Eisenhower and Truman.
At the top of this Grand Staircase, at the back entrance to the private residence, were a couple of other presidential portraits. I will confess I forget which ones. These were not visible to those on the White House tours. Actually, they weren’t visible to anyone except those descending those stairs from the private residence (so the President, First Lady, heads of state, and Secret Service.)
According to CNN, the current occupant of the Oval Office has moved the portrait of President Obama from the Grand Foyer (where it should be) to that hidden area at the top of the Grand Staircase. Thus it cannot be seen publicly on White House tours and cannot be seen by the White House staff.
Why was this done? Was it because President Obama lives rent free in the current occupant’s head? I’d say that’s pretty petty.
Or could there be another reason?
