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White House Shade Icon Pete Souza Reminds Us What an Actual Witch Hunt Looks Like

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Vivian Kane
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Published: Aug 23, 2018 12:49 pm

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It’s been a while since we checked in with former White House photographer Pete Souza, the master of whatever the Instagram equivalent of subtweeting is. Souza has made himself known for throwing immense shade at the Trump administration through just an Obama-era photo and an innocuous-sounding, well-placed caption.

His latest act of snarky resistance is in response to one of Trump’s favorite phrases.

According to the always depressing Trump Twitter archive, Trump tweeted that phrase 104 times since January 1st of this year. And he keeps going, shouting it again whenever some new colleague or adviser or employee pleads guilty to or is indicted on criminal charges, giving the distinct impression that Trump really doesn’t know what a witch hunt is.

He seems to think it means a powerful man is being unfairly persecuted by a bunch of witches. (See: This stupid cartoon.) Or maybe he just really likes the way the words feel in his mouth while he screams them at rallies.

Here’s what Souza had to say:

Witch Hunt during the Obama administration. 😎 #throwshadethenvote

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on

Now, okay, obviously my headline is facetious. This isn’t a real witch hunt. A real witch hunt is a mass church- or government-sanctioned persecution and often murder of mostly women, rooted in misogyny and cultural othering. So no, neither Trump nor Souza are depicting a real witch hunt. But at least Souza’s is a hell of a lot cuter.

(via Pete Souza on Instagram, image: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza via Flickr)

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Image of Vivian Kane
Vivian Kane
Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.
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