'Are you kidding?' These bizarre photos of Trump 'working' during shutdown are being dragged online
Twitter is having a field day with the "so obviously staged" photos and responded with a slew of mocking jokes, taunts and memes at the expense of the president.
The White House released multiple photos of President Donald Trump "working in the White House" on the first day of the government shutdown - and they're already being hilariously dragged online. Shared on Saturday (20 January) - the one-year anniversary of his inauguration - one picture showed Trump sitting at an empty table with a phone to his ear.
"President Donald J Trump talks on the phone in the Oval Office receiving the latest updates from Capitol Hill on negotiations to end the Democrats government shutdown," the caption reads.
Another photo showed the commander-in-chief walking around the building while a third showed the president talking to smiling members of his staff including his daughter Ivanka Trump, adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, communications director Hope Hicks and legislative affairs director Marc Short among others.
In all three photos, Trump is seen wearing his trademark "Make America Great Again" white campaign cap.
The photos come amid the ongoing federal government shutdown after Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a spending bill and extend government funding for a month. Both sides of the aisle have blamed the other for the deadlock and subsequent shutdown.
Naturally, Twitter is having a field day with the "so obviously staged" photos and have ruthlessly responded with a slew of mocking jokes, taunts and memes at the expense of the president.
"An emerging trend is that Trump and his staff have no idea how to stage photos to make it seem like he's actually working," Huffington Post's Matt Fuller tweeted.
"This looks like a photo of a tourist who says: 'oh man take my picture like i'm working in the Oval Office!' one Twitter user wrote.
"These are so staged they're cringeworthy," someone wrote.
Many speculated what the president was discussing during the "phone call" that was captured on camera. One person said: "Calling in his order at Papa John."
One person simply said: "Fake it till you make it."
White House emails: “Photos of President Donald J. Trump working in the White House during the Democrat shutdown†pic.twitter.com/cJzSmalG3p
— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) January 20, 2018
I love the sharpie pen on the desk.
— Shane Anderson (@Globalgallop) January 21, 2018
The sheer volume of briefing materials Trump consumes on any given day is staggering. https://t.co/JetEiRpIoL
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) January 21, 2018
That dude has not worked a day in his life. You mean he is daydreaming of golf and grabbing kittens.
— The Black Pill Resists (@SirGregorResist) January 20, 2018
STAFF: Mr. President, we need the optics of you working hard during the shutdown.
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) January 21, 2018
TRUMP: Fine, I’ll pose with the phone at my ear.
STAFF: Um, sir, maybe it would be better if it looked like you had been reading—
TRUMP: Just take the f**king picture in the next three seconds. https://t.co/Wp3rfOng5T
one way to successfully get this photo is if they just walked in while he was actually working
— Eric Geller (@ericgeller) January 21, 2018
Fake it till you make it.
— Coffee & Science (@FrauStephan) January 22, 2018
Wouldn't be an issue if he actually worked. Then it would just be a candid photo. Pete Souza never had a problem. pic.twitter.com/niqdW9xNtY
— ðŸŽKate (@K8TDidToo) January 21, 2018
*Barron and Melania calling from the other room*
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) January 21, 2018
Trump: "Hello"
Barron: "Uh hi, is your refrigerator running?"
Trump: "I think so"
Barron: "SO IT WORKS BETTER THAN YOUR GOVERNMENT THEN"
*Barron and Melania high five* pic.twitter.com/Nn3SucfAwv
Love to make "work phone calls" with no notes and looking directly at the camera taking a photo of me. https://t.co/wa27flbjDg
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) January 21, 2018
Nice how they laid out short summaries of each of his notable year one accomplishments on his desk.
— Terence Coughlin (@TCoughlin) January 21, 2018
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) January 20, 2018
No papers on his desk. Does pantomiming into a landline for 30 seconds count as work? #RESIGN, clown, Resign! pic.twitter.com/gl4wf6e1C2
— Miss Mercer For Real (@That1EBD) January 20, 2018
"President Trump, how about you we just gather the staff and snap a few pics to make it look like you're not sitting on your butt all day?" "OK, fine, but I'm not doing my hair. You know how long that takes."
— Felipe Escamilla (@IronFeep) January 21, 2018
Yes, most Presidents dress up in a baseball hat indoors while performing their duties, because it looks so professional!! What an embarrassment! #TrumpShutdown
— Robert Shapiro (@unforgettabledj) January 21, 2018
Hard at work are you kidding it’s a photo opt
— joan (@mosfriend1) January 21, 2018
I always work staring straight into a camera, holding a phone without speaking with absolutely no papers on my desk. https://t.co/m0YxuRxzu9
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) January 21, 2018
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) January 21, 2018
— Half An Onion (@HalfOnionInABag) January 21, 2018
POTUS hard at work pic.twitter.com/sTk1jJ5zRK
— Alistair Coleman (@alistaircoleman) January 21, 2018
companion piece to this pic.twitter.com/OJIbSyOjMs
— Ryan Craig (@RyanUpLate) January 20, 2018
