President Donald Trump loves being in the spotlight so much that it rarely stays intact once he gets involved.
Moments meant to look polished and presidential tend to take a sharp detour the second he steps in the room.
His team sets up these tightly choreographed photo ops like he’s on the set of an action movie. Then Trump walks in and treats it more like improv. Instead of sticking to the script, he grabs the moment, stretches it, and sometimes flips it entirely, turning what should be a clean win into something oddly chaotic.
The message gets lost. But the moment becomes entertaining, waiting for the next “Did he really just do that?” moment to drop. His latest photo op backfired when viewers zeroed in on details that leave a bad impression of the president.
The photo-op was compared to a 2016 image of former president Barack Obama welcoming the UConn women’s basketball dynasty to the White House.
He did something radical by Washington standards. He stepped back, let the women speak, put them front and center, and treated their achievement as the main event. Why? Because it was.
Fast forward to 2026, and the University of Georgia women’s tennis champions made the same trip. Only this time, they found themselves physically pushed to the back of their own celebration photo while six men — none of whom swung a single racket — planted themselves proudly in front of the camera.
The Bulldogs team posed with Trump on April 21 to celebrate their 2025 national championship win over Texas A&M in a 4-0 sweep. But the image sparked backlash online after noticing who was forced to back.
Trump and five men stood in front of the ten female players—the actual champions—in a photo shared by White House Communications advisor Margo Martin.
Even before the pic was taken, Trump appeared to be more interested in interacting with the men than the women.
He walked into the room with a “Go Dawgs!” greeting before only shaking the hands of the UGA coaches and administrators, as the women smiled and nodded.
Who were the men dominating the shot? Trump, head coach Drake Bernstein, associate head coach Jarryd Chaplin, assistant coach Will Reynolds, athletics director Josh Brooks, and Bulldog Club director Ford Williams.
“We are thrilled to be able to represent UGA and the state of Georgia at the White House today,” Bernstein said, per USA Today. “This is a terrific experience and memory for these young ladies to be able to share for the rest of their lives.”
What was meant to be a celebratory post of the tennis team’s success turned into a catalyst for Trump’s most hardened critics to call out the MAGA frontman for keeping the female competitors mostly hidden behind the collective of men.
“A photo is worth a thousand words…” tweeted professional tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
Her post echoed the sentiment from some who implied that the image was the personification of misogyny that has been attached to Trump throughout his decade-long run in politics.
One Threads user sarcastically posted, “Ah, yes, as the saying goes, ‘in front of every excellent group of women is a group of mediocre white men taking credit for their success.’”
The president’s documented fixation on co-opting other people’s medals and accolades led to another person jokingly asking, “Did Trump take their trophy too?”
“Honestly, that’s insulting and reflects how arrogant this administration is,” declared another angered individual about Trump and his team of advisers’ perceived male-centered policy and cultural agenda.
However, some observers showed little sympathy for the UGA women’s team’s decision to formally attend the event. “Definitely should have refused the visit. Now they look ridiculous,” offered a like-minded Threads poster.
Trump’s meet-up with the representatives from the UGA tennis program was not the only sports-related White House Kodak moment that caused controversy over the past several days.
The Oklahoma State University 2025 NCAA championship men’s golf team was also honored at the White House with a presidential photo on April 21, which was overshadowed by the golfers being placed in the room with the infamous portrait of a bloodied Trump after the 2024 assassination attempt.
Photo ops set up by Trump having the opposite of the intended effect has become a regular occurrence. Sometimes the unexpected fallout is the direct result of the president’s action, like when cameras catch him falling asleep on the job.
Other times a background detail upstages “The Art of the Deal” author’s attempt to be the center of attention. A prime example of that scenario took place in August 2025 when a crane operator appeared to be the one dozing off as Trump greeted construction workers installing 100-foot flagpoles at the White House.
