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The Barack Obama tan suit controversy occurred on August 28, 2014, when Barack Obama, then–U.S. President, wore a tan suit while he held a live press conference on increasing of the U.S. military response against the Islamic State in Syria. Obama's appearance on television in the tan suit sparked significant attention and led to large amounts of media and social media criticism. The issue remained prominent in the media for several days with the issue being particularly widely discussed on talk shows.
While the controversy itself was trivial, it became notable in the context of Obama's presidency because such a trivial matter could spark such intense criticism. The scandal particularly contrasted with the presidency of Donald Trump that followed, and became a metaphor for the different standards to which Obama and Trump were held.
Background
On August 28, 2014, Barack Obama held a press conference about the situation regarding ISIS in Syria, and how the US military was planning to respond to it. At the conference, Obama said that the US had yet to develop a plan regarding the removal of ISIS, and talked extensively about his concerns in the region. During the conference he wore a tan suit, which up until that point was uncommon for Obama to do.
A light-colored suit is considered slightly less-formal attire, though appropriate as summer wear just before Labor Day. The controversy was seen in the context of the silly season before the run-up to the 2014 election campaign.
Immediate response
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Some people disapproved of Obama's decision to wear the tan suit. Rep. Peter King of New York called Obama's wearing of the suit unpresidential, and stated that “There’s no way, I don’t think, any of us can excuse what the president did yesterday. I mean, you have the world watching.” According to Justin Sink of The Hill, most people viewed Obama's fashion choice to be a mistake. Critics of Obama joked about the tan suit, making a play on words of Obama's "yes we can" and "the audacity of hope" phrases into "yes we tan" and "the audacity of taupe". The latter phrase, a take on the title of Obama's presidential campaign book, was recycled from media coverage of a 2010 Oval Office redecoration by Michael S. Smith which featured a prominent taupe rug and furnishings in similar muted colors, playfully criticized by Arianna Huffington among others.
Others defended Obama's tan suit or dismissed the controversy as being trivial. The day after the press conference, white house press secretary Josh Earnest said that Obama felt pretty good about his decision to wear the suit. Fashion designer Joseph Abboud, who had made suits for the president before, praised Obama for the decision, saying that “You don’t want to look the same every day of your life. It’s boring as hell.” Multiple news outlets pointed out how presidents in the past had also worn tan suits, including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Still others said that the tan suit controversy was overshadowing the greater implications of the conference, and of the US's strategy for ISIS.
Legacy
At times, the controversy has been jokingly dubbed as Obama's "biggest scandal". For Obama, the tan suit controversy became something he joked about at future meetings.
References
- ^ Farzan, Antonia Noori (August 28, 2019). "Obama was blasted for wearing a tan suit. Now, it's used to contrast him with Trump". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- "Best Tweets About Obama's Tan Suit". ABC News.
- https🖉"After the Buzz: Twitter ablaze over tan suit". Fox News.
- Nast, Condé. "Remember When the President's Suit Caused a Media Circus?". GQ.
- ^ Bennett, Kate. "Lessons from Obama's tan suit 5th anniversary". CNN.
- ^ Hilton, Elena (August 28, 2019). "Five Years Later, Obama's Tan Suit 'Controversy' Seems More Ridiculous Than Ever". Esquire.
- ^ Ledbetter, Carly (August 30, 2017). "Remember When All We Cared About Was President Obama's Tan Suit?" – via Huff Post.
- "Obama on ISIS: "We don't have a strategy yet"". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- "In Defense of President Obama's Tan Suit". Time. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- "Eternally Outraged Congressman Not Trying to Be 'Trivial,' But Doesn't Think Obama's Tan Suit Was Appropriate". Intelligencer.
- ^ Mali, Meghashyam (2014-08-29). "WH: Obama stands by tan suit". TheHill. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- Colquhoun, Steve (2014-08-29). "Yes you tan, Mr Obama: in defence of 'the audacity of taupe'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- "Looking Back on Obama's Tan 'Suitgate' from 5 Years Ago & its Juxtaposition to Trump's Scandals Today". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- "On fifth anniversary of Obama's tan suit, media keep lying that his White House was scandal-free". Washington Examiner. 2019-08-31. Retrieved 2020-01-04.