Photo-ops can be tricky, as choreographed moments of cohesion may come off as fake. And that seemed to be the case between President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose photo-ops on Friday were awkward, to say the least, with many accusing Trump of ignoring requests to shake hands with Merkel. After Trump spurned Merkel’s request for a handshake, things only got weirder when Trump made a joke at the duo’s joint press conference about his claims former President Obama wiretapped him, insinuating he did the same to Merkel. The incidents have gotten a lot of flack and photographer Pete Souza is rubbing it in more.
Souza was President Obama’s Chief Official White House Photographer, who cataloged nearly every moment of the former president’s tenure at the White House. Because of his extensive photo collection, he’s been able to pull out a few good ones from time to time, in a quest to throw subtle shade at Trump. And he picked out a few to highlight Obama and Merkel’s warm relationship:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRwFR38lGX0/?taken-by=petesouza&hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRwG7KyFXrb/?taken-by=petesouza&hl=en
For comparison’s sake, here’s one of Trump and Merkel:
Almost seems like night and day. Souza has been at this for awhile, as he’s poked fun at Kellyanne Conway’s questionable microwave surveillance comment and the GOP’s difficulty with trying to pass and replace Obamacare. It’s a joy to see a little fun injected into some of the more uncomfortable moments that are going on in politics.
(Via Mashable)