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Barack Obama tan suit controversy

On August 28, 2014, United States President Barack Obama held a live press conference in which he discussed the prospect of escalating the U.S. military response to the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria. For the conference, he wore a tan suit, which at the time was unusual for Obama, and indeed unusual for many politicians of that period. It received considerable attention, with whether it was appropriate for the subject matter of terrorism being discussed in the media. The issue remained prominent for several days and was widely discussed, often humorously, on television talk shows.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

2:49 pm, August 28, 2014; Obama meeting with John F. Tefft, U.S. Ambassador to Russia, in the Oval Office.

Background

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On August 28, 2014, President Barack Obama held a press conference about the situation regarding ISIS in Syria, and how the U.S. military was planning to respond to it. At the conference, Obama said that the U.S. had yet to develop a plan regarding the removal of ISIS, and talked extensively about his concerns in the region.[6][7] During the conference he wore a tan suit, which until that point was uncommon for Obama.[8]

The light-colored suit was seen by conservative commentator and Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs as "shocking to a lot of people".[6] The controversy was seen in the context of the slow news season before the run-up to the 2014 election campaign.[9][10] The suit received mixed reviews from a sartorial perspective.[11][12]

At the time, the unusual attention given to a male leader's fashion choices was contrasted with that of his 2008 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's "regular experience" as a woman in politics.[13]

Immediate response

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U.S. Representative Peter King, a member of the Republican Party, deemed the suit's color combined with the subject matter of terrorism to be "unpresidential". He went on: "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".[14][5]

Reporters and political commentators 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."[6][15] The latter phrase, a parody of Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope, 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.[16][17]

Fashion journalist for the New York Times Vanessa Friedman noted that the choice of tan was a "particularly odd choice" when discussing "wishy-washy military policy" in Syria.[13]

 
President Ronald Reagan wearing a tan blazer while shaking hands with tennis player Arthur Ashe, 1982

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.[18] Fashion designer Joseph Abboud, who had previously made suits for Obama, 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".[19] Multiple news outlets noted that other U.S. presidents had also worn tan suits, including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.[6][20] Still others said that the tan suit commentary was overshadowing the greater implications of the conference, and of the U.S. strategy for combating ISIS.[3]

Legacy

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Ultimately, the controversy came to be seen as petty and trivial.[21][6][20] For Obama, the tan suit controversy became a topic to joke about at future events.[6]

During the presidency of Donald Trump, Obama’s successor, the tan suit controversy was frequently referred to by Trump critics to draw a contrast between Obama and Trump. These critics contrasted the attention devoted to this trivial issue under the Obama administration with various examples of Trump's actions that broke more substantial political norms while generating less coverage, and argued that the episode illustrated how Obama's presidency was covered in comparison to Trump's.[22][23]

During the week of Obama's 60th birthday in August 2021, and near the seventh anniversary of Obama's tan suit incident, President Joe Biden wore a tan suit for a press conference, which was widely reported as a jab at the initial controversy.[24][25][26]

On September 7, 2022, at an event honoring Obama's official portraits unveiled at the White House, Obama joked about the tan suit incident.[27]

On August 19, 2024, the first day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Vice President and party nominee Kamala Harris made an appearance sporting a tan suit, which was also reported as a jab at the controversy.[13][28][29] On August 28, 2024 (on the 10th anniversary of the incident), Obama tweeted a side by side picture reference of himself and Harris in tan suits tweeting “How it started. How it's going. Ten years later, and it's still a good look! #IWillVote.com”.[30][31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Murray, Rheana (August 28, 2014). "Social Media Explodes Over President Obama's Tan Suit". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Woolf, Jake (August 29, 2017). "Barack Obama's Tan Suit 'Controversy' Is Now Three Years Old". GQ. Archived from the original on October 12, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Bennett, Kate (August 28, 2019). "Lessons from Obama's tan suit 5th anniversary". CNN. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019.
  4. ^ Hilton, Elena (August 28, 2019). "Five Years Later, Obama's Tan Suit 'Controversy' Seems More Ridiculous Than Ever". Esquire. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Brooks, F. Erik; Placide, MaCherie M. (2019). Barack Obama: A Life in American History. ABC-CLIO. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-4408-5914-4.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g 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. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019.
  7. ^ Kaplan, Rebecca (August 28, 2014). "Obama on ISIS: "We don't have a strategy yet"". CBS News. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020.
  8. ^ Dodds, Eric (August 29, 2014). "In Defense of President Obama's Tan Suit". Time. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Rentoul, John (August 31, 2014). "Six of the silliest stories of the August silly season". Independent. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020.
  10. ^ "Trending: Sartorial". www.merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020.
  11. ^ Woolf, Jake (August 28, 2014). "4 Quick Fixes for President Obama's Sad Khaki Suit". GQ. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020.
  12. ^ Maynard, Micheline (August 29, 2014). "In Praise Of The President's Tan Suit". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c Friedman, Vanessa (August 20, 2024). "Kamala Harris's Tan Suit Surprise". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  14. ^ Coscarelli, Joe (August 29, 2014). "Eternally Outraged Conservative Congressman Not Trying to Be 'Trivial,' But Doesn't Think Obama's Tan Suit Was Appropriate". New York. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019.
  15. ^ Colquhoun, Steve (August 29, 2014). "Yes you tan, Mr Obama: in defence of 'the audacity of taupe'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020.
  16. ^ Green, Penelope (September 1, 2010). "The Audacity of Taupe". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020.
  17. ^ Baker, Peter (October 12, 2010). "Education of a President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010.
  18. ^ Mali, Meghashyam (August 29, 2014). "WH: Obama stands by tan suit". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020.
  19. ^ Ledbetter, Carly (August 29, 2017). "Remember When All We Cared About Was President Obama's Tan Suit?". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Goldstein, Joelle (August 29, 2019). "Looking Back on Obama's Tan 'Suitgate' from 5 Years Ago & its Juxtaposition to Trump's Scandals Today". People. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019.
  21. ^ Bennett, Kate (August 28, 2019). "Lessons from Obama's tan suit 5th anniversary". CNN. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  22. ^ Farzan, Antonia (August 28, 2019). "Five years ago, Obama was blasted for wearing a tan suit. Now, it's used to contrast him with Trump". Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020.
  23. ^ Ritschel, Chelsea (August 28, 2019). "Five years on, Obama tan suit scandal is being used to compare him with Trump". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020.
  24. ^ Jenkins, Cameron (August 6, 2021). "Biden pays homage to Obama by rocking tan suit during birthday week". The Hill. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021.
  25. ^ Sinay, Danielle (August 6, 2021). "People think Biden just trolled Fox News by wearing a tan suit during Obama's birthday week". The Independent. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021.
  26. ^ Byck, Daniella (August 6, 2021). "Joe Biden Wore a Tan Suit and Twitter Is Going Crazy". The Washingtonian. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021.
  27. ^ Vazquez, Maegan (September 7, 2022). "Barack and Michelle Obama make first joint return to the White House for unveiling of official portraits". cnn.com. He captures every wrinkle on your face, every crease in your shirt. You'll note that he refused to hide any of my gray hairs, refused my request to make my ears smaller. He also talked me out of wearing a tan suit, by the way,
  28. ^ Sullivan, Helen (August 20, 2024). "Kamala Harris wore a tan suit to day one of the DNC – what does it mean?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  29. ^ Holland, Oscar (August 20, 2024). "Is Kamala Harris' tan Chloé suit a playful nod to President Obama?". CNN. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  30. ^ Coates, Laura (August 28, 2024). "Video: How Obama commemorated the anniversary of tan suit debacle". CNN. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  31. ^ Flam, Charna (August 28, 2024). "Barack Obama Jokes About Kamala Harris' Tan Suit on the 10-Year Anniversary of 'Suitgate'". People. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
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