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As the US federal government shutdown enters its second day on Sunday, Republicans and Democrats remain at an impasse on striking a deal to fund the government. On Saturday, the White House released a handful of images of the president working during the government shutdown; what happened next probably won’t surprise you.
Almost immediately, jokes and memes began to appear on Twitter dragging the president and his team. An image of the president sitting at his empty Oval Office desk — phone in hand, “Make America Great Again” hat squarely on his head — got particular attention.
I always work staring straight into a camera, holding a phone without speaking with absolutely no papers on my desk. https://t.co/m0YxuRxzu9
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) January 21, 2018
With that in mind, here are some of the best memes and jokes to result from the White House’s attempt to offer photographic proof of the president’s work ethic.
I too conduct most of my most important work with a phone in my hand and nothing on my desk, while staring vacantly off into space https://t.co/XrYVv3YEae
— janu-erin (@morninggloria) January 20, 2018
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) January 20, 2018
An emerging trend is that Trump and his staff have no idea how to stage photos to make it seem like he’s actually working. pic.twitter.com/kFHKvWdKLf
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 21, 2018
What does Trump’s team think a person working looks like?
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) January 21, 2018
The White House also released a photo of Trump walking in the White House and another of him surrounded by staff members and celebrating the one-year anniversary of his inauguration. The latter features a number of staffers, including White House communications director Hope Hicks, whose expression got some laughs as well.
she’s gonna outlast as all https://t.co/F9K4GqnLbB
— David Mack (@davidmackau) January 21, 2018
Zoom in on Hope Hicks tho https://t.co/hKVn9RRIOf
— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) January 21, 2018
At least there’s some fun to be had in all of this.