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.
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
Finding a POC in this image is like playing Where’s Waldo. I did manage to find one tho.
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) July 17, 2016
I FOUND HER! Man, @SpeakerRyan, this #SpeakerSelfie game was totally fun! pic.twitter.com/nHYmvaoxQV
— Eric Haywood (@EricHaywood) July 17, 2016
Howling! I love Paul Ryan’s new selfie with young republican interns. pic.twitter.com/D15kcsjC5T
— Fernando Fonseca (@ffernie) July 17, 2016
Ryan has not publicly commented on the controversy.
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