Boehner sombrero photo stirs Twitter

by Rebecca Shabad - 01/30/14 1:57 PM ET

A photo of a sombrero-wearing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on the Drudge Report website stirred a passionate Twitter discussion Thursday as House Republicans gathered at their annual retreat to discuss immigration principles.

Republicans are deeply divided over immigration reform, with some in the GOP saying the party needs to move forward with legislation and others decrying plans to give legal status to illegal immigrants as “amnesty.”

Matt Drudge played up the tensions on his site Thursday, leading his page with an image edited to make Boehner appear to be wearing a sombrero.

The image on Drudge’s site, closely watched by the news and political worlds, was linked to a column by conservative writer Ann Coulter titled “Coulter: Republicans on Suicide Watch.”

Some on Twitter applauded the photo, saying they found it humorous.

I don't know what the article is about, but it was a joy to see a pic of John Boehner in a shopped sombrero on @DRUDGE_REPORT this am

— Kaelee Pines (@KaeleePines) January 30, 2014

.@DRUDGE Your @SpeakerBoehner sombrero picture made my day. Señor Boehner esta un sell out…

— Heather Lee (@hleecar) January 30, 2014

Others criticized the image.

Seriously @DRUDGE_REPORT? Putting a sombrero on Boehner when talking about immigration reform? Stay classy.

— Britt (@bmorrett) January 30, 2014

LatinoRebels.com, a humor, commentary and news website about Latino society said on Twitter the photo proves why the Republican Party doesn’t understand the community’s issues.

Drudge's "Boehner in a Sombrero" Meme Proves Why GOP Base Will Never Get It http://t.co/Nesc4BFI8Y

— Latino Rebels (@latinorebels) January 30, 2014

So far the image hasn’t been appropriated in other ways much, though one person on Twitter took the photo a step further by putting Boehner’s face and the sombrero on the body of a member of Mexico’s Olympic ski team.