White House photographer witnessed, and captured, history

Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

If the eyes are the window to the soul, a lens may be the window to the soul of a presidency. Especially if the photographs were taken by Pete Souza, an official White House photographer for six years of the Reagan administration and chief official White House photographer for President Barack Obama's two terms.

At an event on Wednesday evening at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis, Souza will present presidential photographs that "show the kind of persons they were, what their humanity was like, what kind of president they were."

He'll also provide the back story behind the images, including iconic ones like the photograph of Obama and several key administration figures, including then-Vice President Joe Biden and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, watching the Navy SEALs raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. Because of fears of losing the feed from Pakistan, the military and civilian officials squeezed into a tight room in the Situation Room complex, shoulder-to-shoulder as the gut-wrenching operation took place.

"That photograph," Souza said, "says so many things to me. One, the president of the United States is not even at the head of the table." Obama, recalled Souza, told the military officer, " 'No, you stay right there, I'll just pull up a chair next to you.' And because it was Sunday, he was not even in a suitcoat and tie." Recalling all the "most powerful people" in government there, Souza said, "And yet, in that picture, these guys that make all these important decisions were helpless, right? It's totally up to those guys on the ground. And so for [the] 40 minutes we were in that room you could just sort of feel the anxiety and the tension knowing how risky this raid was." Cognizant it could have ended up like former President Jimmy Carter's failed rescue mission to free hostages in Iran, "you can sort of see that etched on their faces in my photograph."

Such history means a different approach to photography, the former Chicago Tribune photographer said. "I totally consider the role as documenting the presidency for history, unlike working in a newspaper, where your concern is what's the best picture for tomorrow."

Souza contrasted that context with former President Donald Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the one that was at the crux of Trump's first impeachment. "As far as I know," Souza said, "there's no photographs that exist of that phone call by the White House photographer. And to me, that's not documenting history."

The Reagan and Obama photographer has been tough on Trump, trolling him on social media, often with images from the presidents he photographed, as well as in a book appropriately titled "Shade," which is what he threw Trump's way.

"To me, it was very clear from the start that this is a guy that didn't respect the office of the presidency," Souza said of Trump. "He thought the presidency was about him, not about us. And I think that having worked for both Presidents Reagan and Obama, who I think whether you agree with them or not in terms of policy, I think they both respected the office of the presidency and didn't outwardly ever lie constantly to the American people the way that [Trump] did."

Reagan's respect for the office was reflected in his more formal manner, Souza said. "The way he presented himself, I just think that's who he was." While both were well-dressed, Obama often worked without his suitcoat on while in the Oval Office. Reagan, never, as captured in an image of Reagan at the Resolute Desk, diligently reading documents amid nearly ethereal light. "It was one of those situations where you couldn't create that kind of light," Souza said. Having photographed in the office "hundreds and hundreds of times, I've never seen the light quite like that."

Reagan could occasionally be pensive in photos, especially one with him and then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik, where a summit had gone south. But he mostly had moments of happiness and humor. Like in one now-famous photograph, where he's riding a horse, smiling and pointing, looking as in command as he did in Westerns he filmed as an actor. Souza explained that he was the only photographer there and had set up in a perfect spot to capture a riding Reagan, who spotted the photographer and yelled "charge!"

Obama had his playful side, too, especially with kids. There's a great shot of him dramatically falling back after getting zapped by an imaginary web from a kid Spiderman. There's also a meaningful photo of a young Black boy touching Obama's hair. "Seeing a scene like that, it taught me something about Barack Obama," Souza said. "I think that tells you that he understood the symbolism of him being the first person of color in that position."

Souza also has candid snaps of Obama's children, including one of dad talking to his young daughter on a swing set. Once he captured the tender moment, Souza stepped away. "That's just an intuitive thing; you want to make a picture, but you also want them to have their privacy." At one point he checked in with First Lady Michelle Obama, who indicated his approach was "just right." There are "no rules, per se," Souza said. "I didn't have a specific conversation with either of them before the presidency started about photographing the family. It's just like normal human instinct" in terms of "when do you need to give them some space."

He did have several specific conversations with then-Sen., as well as presidential candidate Barack Obama while he covered him for the newspaper. Later, Souza told him that to take the job at the White House he would need "unfettered access, and [Obama] got it; he trusted me. And without that trust, without my access, I wouldn't have been able to make the pictures that I made."

The pictures that he made are remarkable. So are the stories behind them. Because Souza, as a shutterbug and fly on the wall, witnessed and photographed history.

As well as two extraordinary presidents.