Two mentions for Melania Trump in original text accompanying shot taken at Brussels Nato summit while Gauthier Destenay is included in subsequent edit

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The Trump White House on Saturday omitted Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel, from the caption for an official photograph of the spouses of Nato leaders, which was taken at this week’s summit in Brussels.

Trump's big trip began well – but in Europe his flaws were painfully exposed Read more

Destenay, a Belgian architect, married Bettel in 2015, becoming the first same-sex spouse of a leader of a European Union member state.

American first lady Melania Trump was identified twice in the original caption for the official White House photograph, which was taken by Andrea Hanks and posted to Facebook in a collection of pictures from Trump’s nine-day international tour. Destenay’s name later appeared in an edited version of the caption.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The official White House photograph and caption, as posted to Facebook.

The original caption read: “First Lady Melania Trump poses with Belgium’s Queen Mathilde, center, and other spouses of Nato leaders: First Lady Emine Erdoğan of Turkey; Iceland’s Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir; the First Lady of France Brigitte Trogneux; First Lady Melania Trump; Slovenia’s Mojca Stropnik; Bulgaria’s Desislava Radeva; Belgium’s Amélie Derbaudrenghien, and Norway’s Ingrid Schulerud, during their visit Thursday 25 May 2917 [sic], at the Royal Palace in Brussels.”

Destenay, smiling and wearing a dark suit, white shirt and light blue tie, is clearly visible in the picture, behind Melania Trump’s right shoulder. His appearance in photographs of the group of leaders’ spouses taken in Brussels this week caused widespread comment in the media and online.

Prior to the edited caption appearing online, the White House did not return a request for comment.

Unlike other parts of the legacy of Barack Obama, same-sex marriage rights have not come under scrutiny during Trump’s presidency.

In November, Trump said questions on the subject were “irrelevant because it was already settled. It’s law. It was settled in the supreme court. I mean it’s done”.

The ruling in question, Obergefell v Hodges, was passed down in June 2015. Vice-president Mike Pence, former governor of Indiana, has taken hardline stances against the extension of rights, including those concerning marriage, to LGBTQ people.

Destenay and Bettel’s marriage is not the first same-sex union at the highest levels of world politics. In 2010, Johanna Siguroardottir, then prime minister of Iceland, became the first serving leader in the world to marry a same-sex partner.

