President Donald Trump is seen “working” in this photo released by the White House on Jan. 20, 2018.
The White House wants the American people to know President Donald Trump is working “during the Democrat shutdown.” So it sent out a couple of photos that purport to show the commander in chief doing just that. In truth though, the pictures all look like the result of a photoshoot and are unlikely to convince anyone the president was doing anything but taking “executive time” during the shutdown.
There are several eyebrow-raising details about all the photos, including the fact that the president is always wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap, making them rife for mockery on social media. Plus, there’s the pesky detail that none of the photos actually show Trump meeting with any congressional leaders that could signify an effort to perhaps even talk about the shutdown. Instead we see a president roaming around the White House, chatting with staff, as if he’s just holding tight and waiting for someone else to solve the problem.
Another photo shows Trump walking down a hallway and the third shows him “meeting” with several staff members, including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. It looks like they don’t have a care in the world. “Everyone is very smiley in this picture,” notes Reuters reporter Ginger Gibson.
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