Republicans and Democrats alike are vying to lead America’s future this year as President Barack Obama concludes his second term in the White House. But a couple of new selfies with congressional interns suggest one party at least looks more like the America it’s hoping to lead.
Two congressional intern selfies. Only one actually looks like America.
It’s hard for a party to “Make America Great Again” if it doesn’t look like the America it’s trying to lead.
Here’s a selfie taken by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) that he posted on Instagram last Saturday with Capitol Hill interns:
Here’s a selfie taken by Audra Jackson, an intern for Rep. E.B. Johnson (D-TX), that was released Tuesday, of interns for the House Democrats:
My intern Audra Jackson led Democratic Interns in their own selfie 2day showing #DemInternDiversity #DemInternSelfie pic.twitter.com/83UcIOKS5s
— US Rep E.B.Johnson (@RepEBJ) July 19, 2016
The differences are stark — and I’m not just talking about the fact that one party representative was more willing to trust the interns with selfie duties.
According to the Pew Research Center, the 2016 electorate is expected to be the most racially and ethnically diverse body of voters in US history, with people of color comprising 31 percent of eligible voters in November.
There are a few reasons for this shift. While the proportion of black and Asian voters has stayed relatively the same since 2000 (12 percent and 2 to 4 percent, respectively), the proportion of Latino voters has grown from 7 percent to 12 percent, most of whom are also millennials (44 percent).
In comparison, the number of white voters has remained relatively stagnant. Between 2012 and 2016, new white voters only increased by 2 percent. Meanwhile, white voters were overrepresented among voters who died during that same time period (76 percent).
America is changing. And while Donald Trump and the Republicans promise to “make America great again,” the America they stand for, at least as portrayed in Ryan’s photo, simply no longer exists.
