Twitter mocks selfie of Mike Pence and Republican members of Congress
A selfie taken by Mike Pence was mercilessly mocked online Thursday for its apparent lack of diversity.
The picture, tweeted out by Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, showed the vice president-elect surrounded by more than 100 Republican members of the House.
But social media users quickly jumped on one conspicuous detail about the picture - virtually everyone in it is white.
The House GOP Twitter account published a photo of the crowd from a different angle, with a caption boldly stating, "UNIFIED."
That led to another round of excoriation.
According to Senate data, the incoming Republican House delegation includes two African-Americans, nine Latinos, two American Indians, one Asian, and 23 women. There will be 247 Republicans in the House in the next term.
The picture drew immediate comparisons to a picture House Speaker Paul Ryan took with GOP interns this summer. Like the members of Congress in Pence's selfie, the interns in Ryan's photo were overwhelmingly white.