Lobbying

Clinton unsure why sunglasses photo went viral

by Jesse Byrnes - 12/31/15 5:03 PM ET

Hillary Clinton appeared perplexed in 2012 when informed that a now famous photo of her wearing sunglasses while looking at her mobile phone had gone viral online.

The former secretary of State was forwarded an email from aide Cheryl Mills in April 2012 informing her that it “seems everyone is posting” the photo of her on social media.

“Why now? That was on way to Libya?” Clinton responded.

“You look cute,” Mills replied.

The iconic photo of Clinton peering at her BlackBerry was taken aboard a flight to Tripoli, Libya, months earlier, in October 2011.

It gained notoriety after becoming part of the meme “Texts from Hillary,” which imagined potential text messages between Clinton and figures like President Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Clinton apparently enjoyed the photo of herself after leaving the State Department in 2013. It appeared on her social media accounts before she launched her 2016 Democratic presidential bid.

The email was in the latest batch of Clinton emails released Thursday by the State Department, which has been releasing her emails to the public for months.

Tags Cheryl Mills Hillary Clinton