Since Donald Trump took office, former White House photographer Pete Souza has been using his Instagram as a weapon of massive shade destruction. Each time Trump does something, um, questionable, Souza posts an Instagram from a correlating event or moment during the Obama era. The Trump administration says it can’t find the light switches in the the Cabinet Room? Souza posts a photo of Obama’s cabinet hard at work and very well-illuminated. Trump — falsely — says Obama never called the families of fallen soldiers? Souza posts a photo of Obama and a grieving military family. This has been going on for months. (It’s also not bad press for Souza’s new book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, which came out recently.)
The New York Times Magazine caught up with Souza this week. Fun facts include a tidbit about how Souza only took one sick day in four years — he underwent anesthesia for a colonoscopy and would have happily gone to work afterward, had his doctors not advised against it. Also, that oftentimes the job, mostly loafing quietly in the Oval Office and watching governing happen, was boring as heck, “like watching paint dry, because the situation is so similar.” But the best bit is that Souza, our fearless leader in shade, doesn’t care a fig if Trump sees his Instagram posts.
From The New York Times Magazine:
You’ve been using Instagram to juxtapose the Trump and Obama presidencies. Some would describe it as trolling Trump — for example, when Trump used two hands to drink from a bottle of water, you posted a photo of Obama holding up a glass of water with one hand and the caption: “One-handed.” Do you think Trump has noticed?
I have no idea, and quite frankly, I don’t really care one way or the other.
Souza out!
