Biden pays homage to Obama by wearing trademark tan suit on his birthday week
Social media lights up amid memories of ‘yes we tan!’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden appeared to pay tribute to Barack Obama by wearing a trademark tan suit ahead of his birthday celebrations this weekend.
Mr Obama, who turned 60 on Wednesday, once wore a tan suit during a White House briefing on ISIS in 2014 and set the internet alight.
The episode, which eventually became known as “The Obama tan suit controversy”, went on for days with Twitter critics and political commentators both praising and criticising the choice in summer fashion.
Following suit on Friday, Mr Biden appeared to pay tribute to his former boss with a tan suit of his own, and the reaction was no less impressive.
“I’m here in the East Room, I’m listening to the president. The subjects are serious – the economy, vaccinations, jobs – but it’s hard to focus, since I was so distracted by his TAN SUIT,” wrote the BBC’s White House correspondent, Tara McKelvey.
“Tan suit omg,” added Voice of America’s Patsy Wildakuswara. “THIS IS THE PLAN”, Oliver Willis, of The American Independent, added.
Dozens tweeted about Mr Biden “trolling” Republicans with his outfit, after Mr Obama faced accusations from the right of lacking “seriousness”, and of being “un-presidential” in 2014.
Peter King, a former House Republican, said Mr Obama “looked like he was on his way to a party at the Hamptons” and that there was “no way I don’t think any of us can excuse what the president did”.
Headlines at the time included “The audacity of taupe” and “Yes we Tan!”, which was a play on Mr Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan “Yes we can!”.
Donald Trump did not wear a tan suit during his term in office but broke from many other conventions, including not severing ties to his own businesses, failing to release his tax returns, and refusing to accept the transfer of power after an election defeat.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments