Pete Souzas' new book. Pete Souza Citizen, from his Instagram account
Pete Souza Citizen. My new book, "SHADE: A Tale of Two Presidents,” is now available for preorder.
bit.ly/souzashade
Like many of you, I have been distressed by the barrage of lies and hateful comments emanating from the current administration on a daily basis. We have a president who clearly does not understand democracy and the rule of law. To him, a critical news story is fake news, and our intelligence agencies are all corrupt. His presidency has become a reality game show, with his primal need to achieve ratings and wins–for himself. He does not respect women, minorities and immigrants.
I have worked for two presidents in my life–one Republican (Reagan) and one Democrat (Obama). I spent almost every day with President Obama during his two terms, watching how hard he worked on behalf of all Americans. He was–and still is–someone who respected people from all walks of life. He made decisions based on facts. He respected democracy and the rule of law. Unlike his successor, he respected the office of the presidency.
Since President Obama left office, I have been posting photographs and captions here that juxtapose his presidency with the current one. I do this not as a partisan hack, but as an American citizen concerned about the future of our democracy because of our current president. My commentary on Instagram has been subtle, sometimes humorous, and certainly more respectful than his commentary on Twitter.