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2 Photos of Tense White House Moments: Note the Differences 2 Photos of Tense White House Moments: Note the Differences
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WASHINGTON — Two images, one filled with tension and action, one static and posed, depict the country’s commanders in chief at significant, and parallel, moments in their presidencies — overseeing missions to capture and kill terrorists long sought by the United States.WASHINGTON — Two images, one filled with tension and action, one static and posed, depict the country’s commanders in chief at significant, and parallel, moments in their presidencies — overseeing missions to capture and kill terrorists long sought by the United States.
Taken by official White House photographers, the photographs also underscore the drastically different styles of the presidents who oversaw the missions.Taken by official White House photographers, the photographs also underscore the drastically different styles of the presidents who oversaw the missions.
In the first photograph, President Barack Obama is sitting in the back of the Situation Room, dressed down in a windbreaker and polo shirt. He had just arrived back at the White House on the afternoon of May 1, 2011, after playing golf at Joint Base Andrews to avoid any questions about why he had changed his typical Sunday routine, according to former aides.In the first photograph, President Barack Obama is sitting in the back of the Situation Room, dressed down in a windbreaker and polo shirt. He had just arrived back at the White House on the afternoon of May 1, 2011, after playing golf at Joint Base Andrews to avoid any questions about why he had changed his typical Sunday routine, according to former aides.
Mr. Obama had not changed out of his golf clothes when he entered a Situation Room conference room at around 3:30 p.m. to watch Navy SEALs raid the compound of Osama bin Laden — the terrorist behind the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — in Abbottabad, Pakistan.Mr. Obama had not changed out of his golf clothes when he entered a Situation Room conference room at around 3:30 p.m. to watch Navy SEALs raid the compound of Osama bin Laden — the terrorist behind the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
In the second photograph, President Trump is dressed in a tailored suit and baby blue tie, staring directly at the camera from his seat at the middle of the table in the Situation Room. The official seal of the President of the United States is positioned almost perfectly above his head like a crown. In the second photograph, President Trump is dressed in a tailored suit and baby blue tie, staring directly at the camera from his seat at the middle of the table in the Situation Room. The official seal of the President of the United States is positioned almost perfectly above his head.
Mr. Trump had also just returned to the White House from a golf game on the afternoon of Oct. 26. But a president who puts a high value on looking the part made sure he was dressed for entering the “Sit Room” to monitor Special Operations commandos closing in on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of ISIS, in Syria.Mr. Trump had also just returned to the White House from a golf game on the afternoon of Oct. 26. But a president who puts a high value on looking the part made sure he was dressed for entering the “Sit Room” to monitor Special Operations commandos closing in on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of ISIS, in Syria.
The aides around the table in both photographs appear to take their cues from the man at the top. Those around Mr. Trump, all men, are dressed in suits and ties or military uniforms. Most of Mr. Obama’s staffers are missing jackets or ties.The aides around the table in both photographs appear to take their cues from the man at the top. Those around Mr. Trump, all men, are dressed in suits and ties or military uniforms. Most of Mr. Obama’s staffers are missing jackets or ties.
Mr. Obama did not take a seat at the table as he watched a live feed of the raid from a crewless drone overhead. Instead, he was seated off to the side, next to Brig. Gen. Marshall B. Webb, assistant commanding general of Joint Special Operations Command, who was overseeing the communications for the operation.Mr. Obama did not take a seat at the table as he watched a live feed of the raid from a crewless drone overhead. Instead, he was seated off to the side, next to Brig. Gen. Marshall B. Webb, assistant commanding general of Joint Special Operations Command, who was overseeing the communications for the operation.
Also seated around the table: Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., without a tie; Denis McDonough, who was deputy national security adviser at the time, and also tieless; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with a hand covering her mouth in a gesture of apparent awe at what she was witnessing (at the time she said she was covering her mouth to cough, but later said it was a gasp); and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, with a tie but no jacket. Seven other national security officials, including Tom Donilon, the national security adviser (sans tie), filled the space behind the chairs to standing-room-only capacity.Also seated around the table: Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., without a tie; Denis McDonough, who was deputy national security adviser at the time, and also tieless; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with a hand covering her mouth in a gesture of apparent awe at what she was witnessing (at the time she said she was covering her mouth to cough, but later said it was a gasp); and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, with a tie but no jacket. Seven other national security officials, including Tom Donilon, the national security adviser (sans tie), filled the space behind the chairs to standing-room-only capacity.
The tension in the photograph is the scene of the nation’s top national security officials so absorbed in action taking place halfway across the globe that no one in the room seems aware of the presence of a photographer documenting the moment, or where they were positioned in relation to the president.The tension in the photograph is the scene of the nation’s top national security officials so absorbed in action taking place halfway across the globe that no one in the room seems aware of the presence of a photographer documenting the moment, or where they were positioned in relation to the president.
Mr. Trump, in contrast, is seated at the head of the table in the Situation Room’s main conference room, positioned at the center of the action with a smaller circle of aides fanning out around him.Mr. Trump, in contrast, is seated at the head of the table in the Situation Room’s main conference room, positioned at the center of the action with a smaller circle of aides fanning out around him.
On one side of Mr. Trump is Vice President Mike Pence. On the other is Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper. The other officials are: Robert C. O’Brien, the national security adviser; Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Brig. Gen. Marcus Evans, deputy director for special operations on the Joint Staff, whose face is obscured.On one side of Mr. Trump is Vice President Mike Pence. On the other is Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper. The other officials are: Robert C. O’Brien, the national security adviser; Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Brig. Gen. Marcus Evans, deputy director for special operations on the Joint Staff, whose face is obscured.
Mr. Obama’s understated position in the photograph makes him look like a White House staffer, not the man who ordered the raid the night before. Mr. Trump looks like a chief executive posing for a photograph in which his role is central to the story itself.Mr. Obama’s understated position in the photograph makes him look like a White House staffer, not the man who ordered the raid the night before. Mr. Trump looks like a chief executive posing for a photograph in which his role is central to the story itself.
Minus the military uniforms, the Styrofoam coffee cups from the White House mess and the tangle of cables on the table, the picture could be mistaken as a still from Mr. Trump’s old reality show, “The Apprentice.”
Mr. Trump and Mr. Obama are pictured in different conference rooms that are both considered part of the Situation Room. Mr. Trump is seen in the Situation Room’s main conference room, where the president typically works.Mr. Trump and Mr. Obama are pictured in different conference rooms that are both considered part of the Situation Room. Mr. Trump is seen in the Situation Room’s main conference room, where the president typically works.
But during the raid that successfully killed Bin Laden, Obama officials initially set up the communications link in a smaller conference room across the hall from the main room.But during the raid that successfully killed Bin Laden, Obama officials initially set up the communications link in a smaller conference room across the hall from the main room.
“They didn’t yet know at that moment when the image was made that they had gotten Bin Laden,” recalled Pete Souza, the former Obama White House staff photographer, who captured the now-iconic photograph at 4:05 p.m.“They didn’t yet know at that moment when the image was made that they had gotten Bin Laden,” recalled Pete Souza, the former Obama White House staff photographer, who captured the now-iconic photograph at 4:05 p.m.
It is not clear exactly when the photograph of Mr. Trump was taken. Captured by the White House photographer Shealah Craighead, the picture was not time-stamped. Metadata from the image indicates it was created at 5:06 p.m., and the White House said Mr. Trump was seen “monitoring developments as U.S. Special Operations forces close in” on Mr. al-Baghdadi.It is not clear exactly when the photograph of Mr. Trump was taken. Captured by the White House photographer Shealah Craighead, the picture was not time-stamped. Metadata from the image indicates it was created at 5:06 p.m., and the White House said Mr. Trump was seen “monitoring developments as U.S. Special Operations forces close in” on Mr. al-Baghdadi.
The White House refused to clear up any discrepancy, or provide any more details about what, exactly, Mr. Trump was monitoring when the picture was taken. “I am not going to get into operational details such as when things started, length of time, etc.,” Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, said in an email. “The photo was taken during a portion of the raid and was not staged.”
Mr. Trump and his aides, at the very least, seem aware they are being photographed. The head-on angle of the shot also indicates that Ms. Craighead would have had to stand directly in front of the screen on which the group would have been monitoring developments in Syria, although the screens may also have been displayed above her head.
The Obama White House released nine different candid images of the president and his top aides working as the Bin Laden raid unfolded, one even capturing an emotional Mr. Obama.The Obama White House released nine different candid images of the president and his top aides working as the Bin Laden raid unfolded, one even capturing an emotional Mr. Obama.
But unlike his predecessor, Mr. Trump does not allow his staff photographer free range to capture behind-the-scenes photographs of life and work in the White House. Instead, he most often invites Ms. Craighead, or other White House photographers, into the room specifically for the purpose of taking an official picture. Mr. Trump does not allow his staff photographer free range to capture behind-the-scenes photographs of life and work in the White House. Instead, he most often invites Ms. Craighead, or other White House photographers, into the room specifically for the purpose of taking an official picture.
The Trump White House released two almost identical photographs of Mr. Trump working in the Situation Room on Saturday. The photographs are taken from the same angle, but one is cropped tighter than the other. The image of an unemotional chief executive Mr. Trump conveyed in both photographs is the one he likes best. The Trump White House released two almost identical photographs of Mr. Trump working in the Situation Room on Saturday. The photographs are taken from the same angle, but one is cropped tighter than the other.