Marketing

#GOPSoWhite: Paul Ryan ridiculed for posting a ‘blinding’ selfie with interns

By Jordan Valinsky  •  July 18, 2016  •  2 min read  •

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.

I think this sets a record for the most number of #CapitolHill interns in a single selfie. #SpeakerSelfie.

A photo posted by Speaker Paul Ryan (@speakerryan) on

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:

Ryan has not publicly commented on the controversy.

https://staging.digiday.com/?p=188821

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