US President Obama had a meeting with Prince William in the Oval Office today. Sitting under the a portrait George Washington, the two men chuckled and acted like old pals. They did not, however, take any selfies. And neither did any of the reporters present, because they were explicitly asked not to take selfies in the Oval Office.
So this is what it’s come to. The commander-in-chief sits down with royalty and the press gaggle has to be ordered not to make a duck face for Instagram. (Just think how many likes a photo with Barry and Will would get! Imagine if Kate was there!) The ridiculous rule comes a few months after Obama sat down French president François Hollade, and a bunch of French reporters made a scene with their selfie-taking. Just look at this goofy dude from Le Monde:
The question of taking selfies with the president present was stirred up again in April, when David Ortiz (sponsored by Samsung) took a selfie with President Obama and posted it to Twitter (sponsored by Samsung). Ortiz had a deal with Samsung and got paid for the tweet, prompting the White House to consider banning selfies. Now it appears that Obama’s handlers just took one step towards that all-out selfie ban in the Oval Office.
Thankfully for the selfie lovers, the ban on selfies at this point doesn’t appear to extend further than the meeting with William, the Duke of Cambridge. Because some shots with the president are pretty great. Look at these three badasses in the Blue Room:
Pictures: AP / Wikipedia