--- title: Donald Trump: Teacher of the Year Takes White House Photo description: A teacher of the year chose to honor the LGBTQ community in a viral White House photo with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania. canonical: https://time.com/4821844/teacher-of-the-year-photo-lgbtq-trump/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-16T19:14:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:44:35.850Z og:title: A Proud Teacher Honored LGBTQ People in His Photo With Trump og:description: So the internet can't stop talking about it. og:url: https://time.com/4821844/teacher-of-the-year-photo-lgbtq-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5452371499e1973d/6988d2138fd2ee9fd935795a/photo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2048 og:image:height: 1152 og:image:alt: Photo og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Proud Teacher Honored LGBTQ People in His Photo With Trump twitter:description: So the internet can't stop talking about it. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5452371499e1973d/6988d2138fd2ee9fd935795a/photo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's How This Teacher of the Year Celebrated the LGBTQ Community in His Photo With Trump > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jun 16, 2017 7:14 PM UTC  Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead Shealah Craighead—This photograph is provided by THE WHITE HOUSE as a courtesy and may be printed by the subject(s) in the photograph for personal by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jun 16, 2017 7:14 PM UTC When Rhode Island’s teacher of the year posted a photo of his April meeting with [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4748290/sarah-palin-kid-rock-ted-nugent-donald-trump-photo/) and First Lady Melania at the [White House Oval Office](http://time.com/4797283/trump-handshakes-emmanuel-macron-justin-trudeau-neil-gorsuch/%20) Thursday, it quickly went viral. The striking picture shows Nikos Giannopoulos holding a lacy fan and wearing a rainbow pin among other meaningful accessories. Giannopoulos says he picked strategic accessories in order to pay tribute to the LGBTQ community during the photo opportunity with Trump. Giannopoulos posted the photo on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10104845083081603&set=a.10100500849450623.2619447.14227719&type=1&theater) where it scored 1,300 likes and 519 shares as of Friday afternoon. The teacher explained why the look was so important to him in [another viral post](https://www.facebook.com/NikosG/posts/10104677596027003) he shared in April, which included a group photo with other state teachers of the year and a painterly portrait in front of the White House. --- > “” --- He continued with a passionate message about his pride in queer identity: --- > “” --- According to Giannopoulos, he did not have the opportunity to speak with POTUS about policies affecting LGBTQ Americans during his visit as he’d hoped. One of New England’s finest this year, he’s a Renaissance scholar of sorts. “Mr. G,” as he’s known to students, teaches algebra, chemistry and filmmaking in the inclusive co-teaching model that addresses students of all abilities including those with special needs, according to [WPRO](http://www.630wpro.com/2016/06/09/nikos-giannopoulos-named-ri-teacher-of-the-year/). For his extracurricular activity, he’s the Gay Straight Alliance coordinator. He advocated for students who didn’t always fit in at a June ceremony where he accepted his award. “This is for anybody who was ever anxious, anyone who ever struggled in math, for anybody who felt more comfortable in an art room than the gym, this is for you guys,” Giannopoulos said. 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