#GOPSoWhite: Paul Ryan ridiculed for posting a ‘blinding’ selfie with interns

By Jordan Valinsky • July 18, 2016 •

House Speaker Paul Ryan is taking heat from the internet over an Instagram post.

Selfie-stick in hand, the Republican heavyweight uploaded a photo of himself and Capitol Hill interns on Saturday. “I think this sets a record for the most number of #CapitolHill interns in a single selfie. #SpeakerSelfie,” the caption reads.

I think this sets a record for the most number of #CapitolHill interns in a single selfie. #SpeakerSelfie.

A photo posted by Speaker Paul Ryan (@speakerryan) on Jul 16, 2016 at 11:12am PDT

To him, there was nothing wrong with the photo but to others, it showed an alarmingly lack of diversity igniting a firestorm of criticism on the photo. The post is reminiscent of a selfie posted by a Huffington Post editor back in May, meant to highlight an all-female staff, but angered people for being overwhelmingly white.

The photo collected 5,800 likes within the past two days and an equal number of comments highlighting a major brand problem for the GOP.

“It’s blinding…,” one commenter wrote. “This is what Donald Trump is talking about when he said he is going to make America great again he meant lily white again,” another person mused.

The backlash was equally loud on Twitter, sparking the hashtag #GOPSoWhite:

That picture of Paul Ryan with the GOP interns is so white that I had to put on sunglasses to look directly at it. #GOPSoWhite

— Awesomely Luvvie (@Luvvie) July 17, 2016

This is what @SpeakerRyan looks like when he’s totally blind to why his party is so out of touch. #GOPsowhite pic.twitter.com/841ePtUy2q

— Eric Clapp (@eric_clapp) July 17, 2016

And the award for the least diverse selfie in history goes to @SpeakerRyan pic.twitter.com/c0QPIx4mcJ

— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) July 17, 2016