When an incident between President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump exploded Twitter in what became known as “the swat heard ’round the world,” the former white house photographer saw it as a perfect opportunity to remind the country what it should loook like when a couple holds hands.
The photo of former President Barack Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama was taken in 2015 and conveys an image in direct contrast with the swat Melania gave President Trump when he turned and reached for his hand. The photograph depicts the Obamas sitting with hands entwined during an event commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the civil rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, hosted at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
Obama White House photographer @PeteSouza just posted this.
His caption: "Holding hands" pic.twitter.com/TuLzl9OLgZ
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) May 23, 2017
Souza had described the capture of this personal and tender moment between the Obamas by explaining that he had been moving around the event in the attempt of capturing scenes away from the stage. When he glanced towards the stage, he noticed the president and his first lady sitting with their hands in each others as they paid close attention to the speaker, Rep. John Lewis. He moved quickly to capture a few shots of the moment just before they separated their hands in order to applaud, after which the moment had passed.
“Holding hands,” posted by @PeteSouza, a day after the hand swat seen 'round the world pic.twitter.com/cfu5YSNZMs
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 23, 2017
Of course, Twitter loved this picture, with one Twitter user saying that Pete Souza “continues to be the stealth master of subtle burns over on Instagram.”