Why this photo of Barack Obama actually sparked major controversy
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Barack Obama, Fashion
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Barack Obama, Fashion
Barack Obama served as the 44th president of the United States, and while he faced a lot of criticism at the time, one of his strangest controversies seems to have been forgotten about.
US politics often seems to trickle down to the rest of the world, and with Donald Trump now in office, we’re all listening to the news to find out what’s happening and when.
But back when Obama was in charge between 2009 to 2017, a bizarre controversy could have been easily missed by anyone outside of the States.
We are all familiar with Trump’s mishaps after he took office in 2017, following his victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton the previous year.
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He then took on his second term this year after he beat Kamala Harris while Joe Biden was president.
This year has been a world of controversy for the current POTUS, such as his alleged affiliation with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, immigration policies, his partnership with Elon Musk and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Anyway, you’ll probably have no idea just why Obama got so much flack back in his presidential days - particularly because it was over his fashion choices.
Back on 28 August, 2014, Obama held a live press conference where he discussed whether the US military would escalate its response to the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria.
He stood behind the podium and addressed the press wearing a tan suit, even though he was previously known to wear dark coloured suits - much like the presidents before his tenure.
Because of this choice of colour, critics slated Obama for being either 'unprofessional' and 'too casual' for a president, with his suit making headlines and even being talked about on TV for days afterwards.
Amid all the talk, the White House said at the time: “He loves that suit.”
When an image of Obama wearing the suit was recently shared to Instagram, people had some choice words.
One user said: “Remember when this was scandal, I would kill to have this be the only bad thing we’d say about our president, we had it all and didn’t know it.”
A second joked: “They couldn’t handle his swag.”
Someone else added: “Who cares what he's wearing? The clothes don't make the man, it's words & actions.”
A fourth raged on: “Remember when this was the biggest concern in politics?”
And a final user bluntly penned: “Like literally who cares it’s a suit.”
In the years since, the former president has made references to the 'scandal', saying in his final press conference in 2017: “Let me start out by saying that I was sorely tempted to wear a tan suit today.
“But Michelle, whose fashion sense is a little better than mine, tells me that's not appropriate in January.”
Now, tan suits are all the rage.