A House Divided

Obama Photographer Pete Souza on House of Cards and the Virtues of a Transparent Presidency

What Netflix’s clever publicity stunt reveals about the actual current administration.

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On Monday of this week, while Pete Souza’s old boss was enjoying retirement in Italy and the Oval Office’s current occupant was on tour in Israel, the former White House photographer was trailing a different kind of president—a fictional one. As part of a promotional stunt to promote Season 5 of House of Cards, actors Kevin Spacey and Michael Kelly toured the capital in character as scheming President Frank Underwood and his right-hand man, Doug Stamper. A veteran of many a real campaign, Souza captured the duo as they shook hands and kissed babies all over the city. A fan of House of Cards, Souza was excited to play along, and even offered up a suggestion or two on which stops to make. Souza—who has been making headlines of his own since President Obama left the White House—spoke to VF.com over the phone about the importance of a closely documented presidency.

For eight years, Souza photographed President Obama everywhere—from situation room to family room. Souza has said he took as many as 2,000 photos on some days during the back-to-back Obama terms. And while having an official photographer following the president wasn’t unique to Obama—Souza also served as a White House photographer under President Reagan—the sheer number of images released to the public during the Obama years was. As Souza points out, all the White House pictures go to the National Archives, where everybody can, eventually, view them—but “President Obama and his team felt it was more important to be transparent and show these photos now, as opposed to waiting 20 or 30 years.” To that end, Souza launched the first official White House Flickr and Instagram accounts—the latter of which has since been scrubbed of any trace of the Obama years.

The resulting flood of images across social media played a massive role in shaping the public perception of the Obama administration. Souza’s photos painted a clear portrait of the president’s open, relaxed demeanor around his staff, leaders both foreign and domestic, and every kid that crossed his path: “With the coverage I tried to do with President Obama, you’ll be in the Situation Room when important things are happening. You’ll be in the Oval Office. You’ll also see the part of his life when he’s being a dad and a husband. I took that role very seriously in trying to capture all these moments for history.” But how would Souza tackle a president like Frank Underwood, for whom secrecy, rather than transparency, is the order of the day?

Pete Souza/Netflix

Trailing Spacey’s Underwood, Souza said, was no different than the casual, “off-the-record” campaign stops he made with President Obama. His favorite images from Monday include an escalator shot where, Souza says, “you’d have to really look at it to realize that it’s not real.” And though Souza got used to going wherever he wanted in his capacity as photographer to the real president, he was surprised to find that even Netflix’s fake presidential team was granted access to shoot in the Metro and right in front of the White House. Obviously, we’re dealing with a fictional leader of the free world here. But Souza still observed that most real-world candidates strive at least for the perception of openness when on the campaign trail, where every moment is literally a photo opportunity. Politicians, he points out, are invigorated by being “amongst the people,” where even the most guarded president might “open up.”

It’s impossible to consider Frank Underwood—an embattled, secretive president who draws energy from being among his supporters—without also considering the current, non-fictional president. Even House of Cards star Robin Wright recently remarked, “[Donald] Trump has stolen all of our ideas for Season 6.” One thing Trump definitely picked up from Underwood? Playing his cards close to his chest. For the past eight years, we became accustomed to a flood of candid images from inside the White House—but the current administration releases far fewer photos, and almost none in the candid, Souzian style.

In fact, it’s Souza’s Obama photos, even now, that are helping shape the man currently occupying the White House. As several news outlets were quick to notice earlier this year, Souza’s personal Instagram account often seems to comment on whatever Trump scandal—big or small—might be erupting that day. Earlier in the week, when footage of Melania Trump appearing to swat her husband’s hand away was making the rounds, Souza posted this:

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When Pope Francis appeared unenthusiastic about meeting Trump, Souza responded with this:

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Those photos force the world to constantly re-evaluate Trump through the lens of Obama. Out of respect for his successor in the White House, Shealah Craighead—who has reportedly been asked to accommodate some odd requests from Team Trump—Souza declined to comment at all on the current administration’s less transparent photographic practices. That degree of circumspection is something he may have picked up after eight years by Obama’s side. But when asked if his Instagram activity is a direct reaction to Trump, Souza did respond: “I think it speaks for itself.” One suspects that if Souza were Frank Underwood, he would have said that last bit directly to the camera.

Souza’s latest book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait: The Historic Presidency in Photographs, will be out in November. House of Cards Season 5 debuts on Netflix May 30.