White House Slams Samsung Over Obama Selfie

President Obama doesn't want to be used to hawk Samsung smartphones, the White House warned after the electronics giant tweeted a photo of the president and Red Sox star David Ortiz to its 5.2 million followers. Ortiz—who has an endorsement deal with Samsung—took the selfie when the Red Sox visited the White House earlier this week, and Samsung re-tweeted it after he posted it online, CNN reports.The player insists that the selfie "just happened in that moment" and nothing to do with his Samsung deal.

"As a rule, the White House objects to attempts to use the president’s likeness for commercial purposes," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters. "And we certainly object in this case." Carney—who wore his Red Sox cap at the podium just two days earlier—declined to comment on whether White House lawyers had been in touch with Samsung, reports the Boston Globe. (More Samsung stories.)