With fewexceptions , politicians and their carefully stag picture ops are cringeworthy universe .

The late entry into this ignominious , unpointed pantheon of pageantry come good manners of Ivanka Trump . While over in Iowa to promote the President ’s wobbly infrastructural outline and ambitions , she was given a term of enlistment of a local educational course of study . At one compass point , donning a lab coat , gloves , goggles and some glassy scientific appurtenance , she give a science experimentation a go , one involving fluid used in vaping equipment .

Behold , for on that day , anew meme was born .

It should go without saying that anyone can show an interestingness in skill if they wish , no matter who they are . In fact , some decidedly sexist responses to this photograph are clearly out of line .

Ivanka Trump , however , is different . She play an active role in her sire ’s administration , one that is , quite infamously , ban federal scientist , blocking life-sustaining enquiry on climate change and defilement , oversee an industry - ledcoupwithin Union authority , and forever peril todefundmajor scientific inquiry program .

In fact , a record issue of scientists are nowrunning for officeto stop this insanity before the damage becomes irrevokable , just as muckle of others are joining anexodusto Europe . That ’s hardly a sign that everything with federal skill is tickety - bird right now , is it ?

Although Ivanka has occasionallydabbledin talking about or referring to scientific discipline over the past few days – primarily women in STEM , and information processing system science – you could very well reason that it ’s nothing more than superficial . An advocate for science she is most certainly not , and the miasm of the Trump organization ’s war on politically inconvenient science follows her silence on such issuing around .

Although far from the first government official to problematically pose with or as a scientist , this profoundly unfortunate photo op has only amplified such hypocrisy . Like view a caterpillar endeavor to conduct an orchestra , your brain in a flash recognizes that there ’s just something not quite right about it – and plenty have taken to Twitter to voice their mental rejection , including plenty of scientist and science advocacy groups .

Forget this pure tone - deaf photo op : If Ivankaet alwere truly concerned in support skill and scientists , then perhaps they could start by not defunding or censor it , or perhaps even trying to sieve out the systemicdiscriminationof women in STEM field of honor Job . Call us half-baked , but there are plenty of actual office example for American scientists out there right now that deserve highlighting – fromJess Phoenix , a volcanologist running for Congress , toJasmin Moghbeli , the first person in NASA ’s astronaut candidate program with in-between Eastern root .