Controversy Over Photo of Conway Kneeling on Oval Office Couch

Social media erupted into controversy over photos showing President Donald Trump's senior adviser Kellyanne Conway kneeling on a couch in the Oval Office during a photo op with Trump and leaders of the nation's historically black colleges and universities.

Critics accused her of showing a lack of respect in the Oval Office. 

@AFP such a classy way to sit in the Oval Office.. KellyAnne clearly was not taught how to sit properly in a dress...

— Ms. Maggie (@MissMaggie1971) February 28, 2017

@AFP @KellyannePolls Would u let your daughter sit like that? Show some class every chance you get.

— (💕perSISTER💕) (@power2she) February 28, 2017

Others pointed out that conservatives made similar complaints about former President Barack Obama.

As conservatives defend classless Kellyanne Conway in Oval Office don't forget they blew a gasket when a black man put his feet ON HIS DESK pic.twitter.com/kgOZbc0Rkr

— Jonathan Jewel (@jonathanjewel) February 28, 2017

The Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens also commented on the point.

If Rice or Jarrett had sat like this in Oval Office conservatives would have screamed themselves hoarse for weeks. Now we own trashy. https://t.co/wFo31mqjYI

— Bret Stephens (@StephensWSJ) February 28, 2017

Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post, however, wrote that the entire controversy was misplaced and distracting.

"It was dumb when Republicans leveled the charge of Obama and Clinton disrespecting the White House. It is equally dumb now," he wrote.

Cillizza bemoaned that "We have reached a point in our politics . . . in which even the most mundane of events is somehow invested with nefarious symbolism," but was perhaps more upset that these trivial matters would "distract from more serious and consequential debates like Trump's travel ban, his campaign's contacts with Russian intelligence officials and his war against leaks."

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