President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden sat down with former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn during a visit last week to Georgia, but a photo from the get-together has suddenly set social media afire.
In the snapshot, the Bidens are kneeling next to two comfy chairs that hold Jimmy, 96, and Rosalynn, 93. Joe, 78, and Jill, 69, look like giants, while the Carters look like lilliputians.
The Carter Center on Monday released the photo of the couples — with no one wearing a mask — after the Bidens’ visit to the Carters’ home in Plains, Georgia, last Thursday.
”We’re pleased to share this wonderful photo from the @POTUS and @FLOTUS visit to see the Carters in Plains, Ga.! Thank you President and Mrs. Biden!,” the center wrote in a tweet Monday night.
We’re pleased to share this wonderful photo from the @POTUS and @FLOTUS visit to see the Carters in Plains, Ga.!
Thank you President and Mrs. Biden! pic.twitter.com/QcA33iUev4
— The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) May 4, 2021
Twitter users went to town on the odd photo.
“I’ve been staring at this photo for three hours. I’ve got to go to bed. Back at it tomorrow,” wrote Joe Seiders.
“Filing under ‘why we don’t use the ultrawide lens indoors’,” journalist Jared Holt wrote.
“We voted for Biden because he’s a decent human being with sound policies but also because he and Jill are giants who will crush you if you make them angry,” posted one user.
Said another: “Glad I’m not the only who noticed. I know it probably has something to do with the angle this photo was shot and that people do tend to shrink as they age, but the Bidens look gargantuan next to the Carters. In any event, God bless the Carters and the Bidens.”
Another said the photographer was to blame. “My guess is the room was very small, so they had to use a wide angle lens to get everyone in. The choice of lens was correct, but someone should’ve fixed the distortion in photoshop before releasing it,” wrote another Twitterer.
One said: “These four are adorable but this is a perfect example why to avoid photographing portraits with a super wide lens. Anything on the edges will appear huge due to lens distortion. Must have been a very small room and no other option.”
Still another said: “Here’s a quick example of removing the extreme lens distortion. A wide angle lens causes everything on the outer edges of the image to expand, and center to contract — the small room made a wide angle lens necessary.”
Here's a quick example of removing the extreme lens distortion. A wide angle lens causes everything on the outer edges of the image to expand, and center to contract — the small room made a wide angle lens necessary. pic.twitter.com/L9rVS5Xx0U
— DemSwag (@DemSwag_com) May 4, 2021
Another offered their own fix.
There. I fixed it. pic.twitter.com/dmjLiX3oXk
— 🌊 Deonardo La Vinci 🌊 (@DeonardoLeVinci) May 4, 2021
Others noted how it was odd Joe Biden didn’t wear a mask with such elderly people.
“The comments on this distorted photo are hysterical, but the fact that President Biden wears a mask when he’s alone on a Zoom call with world leaders but he doesn’t when he’s sitting with the Carters, a couple in their 90s, only proves that post vaccine masks are pure theater,” wrote a user.
The comments on this distorted photo are hysterical, but the fact that President Biden wears a mask when he's alone on a Zoom call with world leaders but he doesn't when he's sitting with the Carters, a couple in their 90s, only proves that post vaccine masks are pure theater.
— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) May 4, 2021
“No mask? But they’ve been wearying [sic] masks EVERYWHERE, so why not with this very elderly, very vulnerable couple?” wrote another.