# Tansuitgate: can someone explain the issue? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061 "2020-07-11T21:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/1 "2020-07-11T21:46:46Z")
I keep reading that Obama upset the nation five years ago by wearing a tan suit. What is the issue here? The only suit I currently own happens to be tan. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/2 "2020-07-11T21:52:29Z")
The utter bullshit claim was that it wasn’t a serious enough color for the topic of his announcement that day. Of course, _white_ Presidents have worn tan suits without criticism. It wasn’t the nation, just one frothing lunatic who got the GOP braying right along with him. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/3 "2020-07-11T22:35:38Z")
A tan suit just looks ugly and too casual, is all. Of course, the GOP was also blowing a trivial and pointless thing utterly out of proportion. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/4 "2020-07-11T23:48:05Z")
Here ya go. Note that this article from GQ was written Aug 29, 2017, approximately a millennium ago in trump-years. ThelmaLou wipes away a nostalgic tear > **[Remember When the President's Suit Caused a Media Circus?](https://www.gq.com/story/barack-obama-tan-suit-anniversary)** > > Simpler times. > While [President Trump](https://www.gq.com/about/donald-trump) is currently trying his best to [defend his administration’s choice](https://www.gq.com/story/fox-news-trump-post-vacancies) to leave many essential government positions empty, we’re looking back at a time when the President wearing a tan suit was the biggest controversy of the day. Now, Barack Obama had his fair share of legitimate mess-ups in office, but in terms of the kind of non-stories the media grabbed ahold of, the “tan suit scandal” was perhaps the silliest. (Rivaled only by the time Sean Hannity tried to claim Obama was an elitist for putting [dijon mustard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAvq12Sa3VE) on his burger.) Remember? Then-President Obama wore a tan suit and people were…mad? That it wasn’t suitably presidential, or something? > > Let’s be clear that we at _GQ_ [do not, and did not, endorse Obama’s tan suit](https://www.gq.com/story/gq-addresses-barack-obamas-khaki-suit). But critiquing suits is also kind of our thing, and no President is above a style lesson, which is why we gave President Trump a much-needed [fictional style revamp](https://www.gq.com/story/donald-trump-presidential-makeover) earlier this year. Barack Obama’s suit was bad! We call it like we see it—and while a tan suit is always in the cards come summertime, this one was a miss. But the hubbub from non-style quarters about the suit? That was…a bit much. > … ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/5 "2020-07-12T00:02:02Z")
The issue is that it was Obama. That really is the essence of it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/6 "2020-07-12T00:06:35Z")
Don’t forget the time Obama put his feet up on the desk in the Oval office. Note the source of this sensationalist story is rightist rag Washington Times. > **[Obama’s foot on Oval Office desk sends shockwaves around the world](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/4/obamas-feet-oval-office-desk-sends-shockwaves-arou/)** > > Shock, outrage and mocking criticism is building among conservatives — and those of other political stripes who put the White House and its possessions on a historical pedestal – over a photograph showing President Obama in an informal pose, with his... “Shockwaves around the world”?? Really?? Of course, a Black man putting his feet up on the desk… that’s a whole ‘nuther crime. The uppity bastard. Obama’s biggest crimes were (1) bein’ uppity, and (2) _Presidentin’ While Black_. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/7 "2020-07-12T00:06:50Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > The issue is that it was Obama. That really is the essence of it Exactly. Obama did or didn’t do, say or wear something, therefore what he did or didn’t do, say or wear is bad. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/8 "2020-07-12T01:19:00Z")
Hell you think that’s bad, didn’t they also go ignernt when Michelle one day showed up sleeveless? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/9 "2020-07-12T05:52:01Z")
And likewise, the outrage for any uppity blackish man – well, any uppity elite liberal snob, really – with a taste for arugula. The nerve! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/10 "2020-07-12T12:49:39Z")
Well, this was following on the heels of the infamous [terrorist fist jab](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fox-anchor-calls-obama-fi_n_106027). Clearly, between these two events, the dignity of the office of the Presidency had been forever compromised. Of course, the real compromise wasn’t so much to do with the color of the suit as it was of the man wearing it… ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/11 "2020-07-12T13:02:09Z")
I don’t have the book any longer, but I remember that in one edition of Dress for Success, there was a discussion of tan suits since Ronald Reagan occasionally wore them. Here’s a (very long) video from the 1987 Iran Contra hearing. Notice Bud McFarlane (Reagan’s National Security Advisor) is wearing a tan suit along with several senators and other attendees [Iran Contra Hearings 07/14/1987 - YouTube](https://youtu.be/teqGINsaeKA) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/12 "2020-07-12T14:14:16Z")
And to think I completely missed the Tan Suit Crisis. I guess I was too focused on the Wing Tip Shoes Affair and its implications for world peace. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/13 "2020-07-12T14:33:24Z")
Here’s a video that came out a while back walking through all the big Obama ‘scandals’ . Granted, it’s part of Comedy Central and The Daily Show, but it’s still fun to watch all the things that the right went ape shit about, and not only that, but things they went ape shit about when Obama did them, but either didn’t notice, didn’t care or defended the exact same behavior when it was someone else. [I have it cued up](https://youtu.be/7MWxq80oze0?t=497) to Fox going off the rails because he didn’t have his suit jacket on while in the oval office. In the next clip, they’re making fun him for wearing a bike helmet. Saying his dumb hat is an embarrassment to the country and makes us look weak compared to Russia. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/14 "2020-07-12T16:17:49Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Hell you think that’s bad, didn’t they also go ignernt when Michelle one day showed up sleeveless? The sleeveless part was bad enough, but a male ape wearing a dress at all --! That’s just too much! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/15 "2020-07-12T17:18:47Z")
Ignorance fought. Too bad they don’t allow Comedy Central videos to be shown in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/16 "2020-07-12T18:07:31Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > And likewise, the outrage for any uppity blackish man Yeah, that’s the subtext. As mentioned above, it has nothing to do with the actual action. Those media outlets do this _ **in general** _ because they know it will get a reaction precisely because of who the person is. Other presidents have done these things (put their feet on the desk, etc.), but they weren’t black, and that will never come up in their coverage. It doesn’t necessarily work with the whole population, but it works with their market share, which is sizable. They don’t have to mention race explicitly, _ **but they are talking about it all the time** _ out of the side of their mouth. They constantly do it when addressing big and small issues. (And it’s not just Fox News.) This is why when people bitch about “racial identity politics” because some groups talk about race explicitly they are being totally hypocritical–or disingenuous, or clueless. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/17 "2020-07-12T18:27:43Z")
I remember when wearing a tan suit almost cost [President Ronald Reagan](https://www.google.com/search?q=ronald+reagan+tan+suit+image&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=oqPmZvg--mlHkM%252C4WXiRCzA81_dvM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTslwTb3egRWoIusvAWZ60I7qJ6jw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi95YiEq8jqAhUolnIEHV6ZD4AQ9QEwAHoECAoQBQ&biw=1920&bih=937#imgrc=4ql179xgmvbQ0M) his office. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/18 "2020-07-14T17:46:21Z")
People were just being silly, no one was actually upset. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/19 "2020-07-14T17:51:13Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > People were just being silly, no one was actually upset That weak-ass attempt to smear Obama was not someone being “silly”. It was a deliberate attempt to smear the President, and with some of the populace the attempt was successful. Nice try. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061/20 "2020-07-14T18:21:47Z")
You have a cite that anyone changed their opinion or thought less of Obama because he wore a tan suit? It is like saying people hate Trump because he eats pizza weirdly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tansuitgate-can-someone-explain-the-issue/915061.md?page=2)