Wednesday, August 28, 2019

This Day In History, 2014: Obama's Tan Suit




From the article at the Washington Post: 

Ronald Reagan wore tan suits during his presidency. So did Dwight D. Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

But on Aug. 28, 2014, when President Barack Obama showed up for a White House news conference dressed in beige, the light-colored suit became a matter of national import. Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) fumed that the suit pointed to a “lack of seriousness” on the president’s part, cable news shows held roundtable discussions, fashion critics and image consultants weighed in, and TV news reporters conducted man-on-the-street interviews to find out what the people of Northeast Ohio thought of the controversial look.

Five years later, however, Tan Suit Gate has taken on a different meaning, coming to symbolize the relative dearth of scandals during the Obama administration. On social media, just about every news item about potential conflicts of interests within the Trump administration and the president’s flouting of norms is met with some variant of “Remember when Obama wore a tan suit?” In the past week alone, the tan suit comparison has been leveled against President Trump’s assertion that he is “the chosen one,” his demand that U.S. companies leave China, and his desire to hold next year’s Group of Seven summit at his Florida golf resort — just to name a few examples.
(Read the article here.)

No comments: