House Speaker Paul Ryan Sparks Social Media Uproar With Selfie

When Speaker of the House Paul Ryan shared a selfie with his Washington staffers over the weekend, he didn’t know what a firestorm of controversy it was going to cause.

After Ryan posted the snapshot to Instagram, critics instantly attacked the speaker on social media for the racial makeup of his staff.

Aside from a few Asian-Americans and one lone African-American woman, it appears that the rest of the people in the photo are white.

Liberal media outlets reacted with mockery on Twitter.

You’ll be blinded by the white in Paul Ryan’s Capitol Hill intern selfie https://t.co/1thaYJ9EM4 pic.twitter.com/eZGT5qf69t

— Esquire (@esquire) July 17, 2016

Paul Ryan’s latest Instagram photo set the record for most white people in a selfie ever https://t.co/Zb1TuuSaG6 pic.twitter.com/g0nw5Q2WVX

— Mic (@mic) July 17, 2016

Some said the photo proved that the GOP is racist.

Paul Ryan posts a selfie with a room full of WHITE interns, yet REPUBLICANS claim not to be racist ! https://t.co/BMkeJuvzBD

— Ice bloo (@TaxReligions) July 18, 2016

A poster on Instagram commented, “Wow look at that diversity. Almost as diverse as the privilege distributed through the country.”

One outraged Twitter user even used racist imagery to make her point, posting a photo of white crackers over Ryan and the staffers’ faces. “Cracker” is a racist slur used against Caucasians.

#PaulRyan #selfie #fail how many white people can you get in one picture? #GOP. #YouMightBeARepublican….. pic.twitter.com/Q6kubGztqg

— Megan Al-Baioumy (@sweethabibi) July 17, 2016

Others, however, came to Ryan’s defense.

One woman issued a reminder about how intern positions are filled.

@mic Remember, interns apply or volunteer……they are not recruited. #herewego #bait #eyeroll

— sandy manders (@sandyleeman) July 18, 2016

Some compared the Ryan photo to the racial makeup seen in liberal media and political campaigns.

@mic to be fair, @BernieSanders holds the record for most white people in a selfie ever. pic.twitter.com/D01qjhtcm2

— JO (@realolejnik) July 17, 2016

Slate is upset bc Paul Ryan’s interns are too white.

Should’ve told them it was a buzzfeed editorial meeting. pic.twitter.com/rvBrqnaEO9

— Welcome To The Oort (@ClarkHat) July 17, 2016

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