--- title: Paul Ryan's Overwhelmingly White Selfie Says It All description: The Speaker of the House posted a striking Instagram image on Sunday canonical: https://time.com/4410815/paul-ryan-intern-selfie/ author: IDEAS Desk article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-18T16:50:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:19:46.679Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Paul Ryan's Overwhelmingly White Selfie Says a Lot og:description: The Instagram is about as diverse as the Senate og:url: https://time.com/4410815/paul-ryan-intern-selfie/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f5095c0cce26ef4/69889c5ca988ca66b56b8a94/gettyimages-496595468.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Fox Business And The Wall Street Journal Host Republican Primary Debate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Paul Ryan's Overwhelmingly White Selfie Says a Lot twitter:description: The Instagram is about as diverse as the Senate twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f5095c0cce26ef4/69889c5ca988ca66b56b8a94/gettyimages-496595468.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Paul Ryan's Overwhelmingly White Selfie Says a Lot About America by [IDEAS Desk](https://time.com/author/ideas-desk/) ## IDEAS Desk Jul 18, 2016 4:50 PM UTC  U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan taking a similarly diverse selfie during a presidential candidate debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Nov. 10, 2015. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan taking a similarly diverse selfie during a presidential candidate debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Nov. 10, 2015.Bloomberg/Getty Images by [IDEAS Desk](https://time.com/author/ideas-desk/) ## IDEAS Desk Jul 18, 2016 4:50 PM UTC After many weeks in which [cameras have helped expose](http://time.com/4398580/diamond-reynolds-video/) racial disparity in the U.S., on July 17, Speaker of the House of Paul Ryan posted a revelatory photo to Instagram. The image, captioned “I think this sets a record for the most number of #CapitolHill interns in a single selfie. #SpeakerSelfie,” featured an overwhelmingly white group of young people—opportunity and privilege in 1080 square pixels. The photograph instantly [sparked debate and mockery](http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a61486/capitol-hill-white-interns-photo/): > [](https://twitter.com/Luvvie/status/754740713909317632) > [](https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/754714108943937536) > [](https://twitter.com/elongreen/status/754743714980003840) [The post itself](https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7pXnKj5t%5F/?taken-by=speakerryan) has received over 5,500 comments. Let’s keep in mind that the current Senate is 6% nonwhite. The House of Representatives is 80% white. The overall American population is just above 60% white. Yet somehow, this Congress is lauded for being the [most diverse ever](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/12/114th-congress-is-most-diverse-ever/). Ryan himself was a Congressional intern in 1991 for former Senator Bob Kasten, of Ryan’s native Wisconsin, who in April [joined](http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/374368271.html) presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s foreign policy team. After Ryan graduated college the next year, he joined Sen. Kasten’s staff. 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