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Donald Trump’s Oval Office Photo Highlights the Lack of Diversity in the White House
It’s been a rough Black History Month for President Donald Trump. First, Trump spoke about African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass as if the man was still alive (he died in 1895).
But a tweet on February 16 from Trump proves that he still has a long away to go before he can improve relations with people of color.
The tweet included Trump’s signature hashtag #MakeAmericanGreatAgain, and a Oval Office photo of some of his prominent staff members.
#MakeAmericaGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/iwkcH3BBAG
— President Trump 45 Archived (@POTUS45) February 17, 2017
However, something was clearly missing from the photo that Trump suggested fits his ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan.
https://twitter.com/karabeth95/status/832581468220178432
All of the people in the Oval Office photo are white.
In addition to Trump, the photo included 11 white men — most of them being old — and one white woman.
People on Twitter criticized the Oval Office photo and called it out for it’s obvious lack of diversity. Some people even said that a more appropriate slogan for the photo should be ‘Make America White Again.’
https://twitter.com/TUSK81/status/832447995303976960
.@POTUS could this picture be any more white?
— jordan (@JordanUhl) February 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/MarcTito1/status/832566827318276096
.@realDonaldTrump, where's the secret service?!?! How'd a female manage to photo-bomb an oval office pic of the WHITE MEN who run America? https://t.co/gectOsQYrJ
— Misha Collins (@mishacollins) February 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/YouthEnergyToo/status/832601550757441540
The photo is not the first time that Republicans have been called out for a lack of diversity. Over the summer, House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted a selfie with his interns — all of them were White. And after the election, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted a selfie with the All-White Republican Congressional caucus.
Although this Congress is the most racially diverse in U.S. history, we still have a long way to go before achieving true racial equality when it comes to our elected leaders.