Over the weekend, the White House released a series of images showing President Donald Trump and his security team watching the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The photos were taken at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. They were clearly intended to echo Barack Obama and his advisers in the White House Situation Room during the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Instead, the images went viral for all the wrong reasons. The side-by-side comparisons began immediately. Obama’s Situation Room photo has been etched into our memories with a sense of history playing out in real time. Trump’s version, on the other hand, featured gold chairs, folding tables, and worst of all, what appeared to be an X feed projected onto a large screen.
Yes, X (formerly Twitter), during an active military operation.
From the “Temporary Situation Room” based at Magalago.
Trump: “Search Venezuela on X. Ooohhhh, what is that post with the giant sad emoji?” pic.twitter.com/uAKCpyF85c
— Mr. Spock 🖖 (Commentary) (@SpockResists) January 4, 2026
In photos released by the White House via Truth Social, a search for “Venezuela” can be seen on the screen, along with posts reacting to the raid. At one point, a large emoji appeared in the feed. The image drew widespread criticism.
On Saturday, Trump said he watched the operation and compared it to “a television show.” The White House confirmed that the president was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and other officials. Vice President JD Vance was not present in the photos, though, and this was very much unlike Joe Biden being there alongside Obama in 2011.
My god he really wants his own Situation Room photo.
Unfortunately for him the reason why it’s iconic is that Obama isn’t in the center of the frame and isn’t the main point of the photo https://t.co/aUcbxTF6KA pic.twitter.com/Ln1X47tWSu
— Thomas ❤️☀️ (@Thomas_18_47) January 3, 2026
RELATED: JD Vance Says Trump Gave Maduro ‘Multiple Off Ramps’ Before Shock Capture
One X user noted: “During the Osama operation, Obama’s war room photo became iconic. Trying to copy that moment, Trump forgot (…) you don’t open Twitter in a war room.” Another post described the scene as “a makeshift SCIF at Mar-a-Lago with (…) a Twitter feed on the screen behind him.” A third comment read, “War room activities and it’s just scrolling on Twitter.”
Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost joked,
“They are ‘monitoring the situation’ just like I was in bed last night.”
Washington Post reporter Evan Hill pointed out that multiple photos showed the exact X search in the background. CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter suggested the team watch social media to see whether the operation was detected publicly.
🚨 JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇻🇪 Trump says the US could launch another military strike on Venezuela if the rest of President Nicolás Maduro’s government does not cooperate after his capture, saying he wants to help “fix” the country. pic.twitter.com/7oaoJ2DRvJ
— haseebfud (@haseebfud) January 5, 2026
Pete Souza served as Obama’s chief White House photographer, and even he called the Trump photos “reality TV-like” during an appearance on ITV News’ Talking Politics podcast. He asked why there are still no images of him meeting his security team in the White House Situation Room or speaking with world leaders, and asked whether such photos aren’t being taken.
When we look back at this moment, will we remember the operation or the scrolling?
