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What it looks like when your toddler has a tantrum at Obama’s feet during a fancy White House event

May 27, 2015 at 1:46 p.m. EDT
Two-year-old Claudia Chaudhary throws a tantrum at the White House on April 3, 2015. (Photo by Pete Souza)

A key Passover ritual involves asking: “Why is this night different from all other nights?” That’s kind of a no-brainer for Laura Moser, whose 2-year-old had a full-on tantrum during this year’s White House Passover event on the floor at President Obama’s feet.

The photo of Claudia Chaudhary, in a sundress and little pigtails, face down on an ornate White House carpet while the father-in-chief gestures at her went viral last week, prompting parents worldwide to say some version of “thank GOD that wasn’t my kid.”

The photo was taken April 3 by White House photographer Pete Souza, the White House said, and spread after Moser’s brother tweeted it.

Reactions ranged from the parental:

… to the political:

Claudia was unavailable for comment, but her mom said nothing specific brought about the tantrum “except the terrible condition of being two.” It apparently went down before the ritual Passover meal, called a seder.

“We should’ve thought twice about bringing her after her earlier fit over the silver tights and Mary Janes that she refused to wear,” Moser said via e-mail, clarifying that the squirt was never going to stay for the full meal; “I am not a total fool.”

Post-tantrum Claudia was, indeed, “removed from the scene,” mom reports.

Among the best aspects of the photo is the been-there-done-that look on Obama’s face. The president, Moser said, was “totally unfazed, and said something like: ‘She’s just doing her job,’ before laughing.”

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