At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, President Barack Obama admitted that “We don’t have a strategy yet,” when asked about ISIS. He also wore a tan suit and for all the predictable reasons, social media went wild.
If you missed the full “audacity of taupe,” fear not. To spare you the pain of suffering through the retweets of gushing praise and feeble attempts at humor, we have compiled the best and worst of the social media backlash.
The suit was polarizing to say the least. Some commented on the boldness and, dare we say, audacity of the choice.
Obama vows to defeat whoever made him wear this suit. pic.twitter.com/zoqj7OVFRe
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) August 28, 2014
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen President Obama in a khaki suit. I recall it during his Senate days, but is this a WH debut?
— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) August 28, 2014
This is what happens when Obama bypasses Congress to purchase a suit.
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) August 28, 2014
Even some self-identified Obama fans found his suit the strongest part of his speech.
I’m normally a fan of Obama but that was a very weak Obama speech and press conference. Only strong suit was his suit.
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) August 28, 2014
Others just poked fun at the style:
I don’t care that Obama’s suit is tan. The problem with the suit is that it’s EMPTY.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 28, 2014
President Obama is here to sell you tornado insurance pic.twitter.com/RYeWlKAm79
— Jared Keller (@jaredbkeller) August 28, 2014
The Washington Post even went as far as to consult their in-house fashion expert, Robin Givhan, who provided a short paragraph on the intricate social etiquette of suits.
“It says more about official, federal, political Washington that anything other than a dark suit with a white shirt and red tie counts as some sort of aesthetic heresy,” Givhan wrote. “That is a conservative two-button suit in a color that is perfectly appropriate for the time of year and the occasion. This was not a ‘formal’ news conference. Honestly, people are responding like he showed up in Pharrell Williams’ short suit. I’m appalled by the Twitter feeds.”
(She did not weigh in on the merits of not having a functioning Middle East policy, though.)
However, few spoke as candidly as Rep. Peter King, (R-N.Y.), who blasted the president’s suit choice on NewsMaxTV on Friday.
“There’s no way any of us can excuse what the president did,” said King, who believed that, with the eyes of the world watching, the president’s light suit emphasized that “foreign policy was not a major issue” for him.
One hates to interrupt the fuss, but shouldn’t what Obama said be the focus here, rather than what he was wearing?
