Reporters question Obama's pose while on phone with Erdoğan

The White House released a series of photos on Tuesday, one of which shows Obama firmly holding a baseball bat while speaking on the telephone. The photograph's caption reads, “President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey in the Oval Office, July 30, 2012.”

Reporters questioned Carney on Tuesday about Obama's pose. One asked if the pose was “a diplomatic gift.” Another asked if it was an aluminum or wooden bat. However, Carney laughed it off and said all he could say is that Obama is a baseball fan, adding, “as I think he said, White Sox but also watching the remarkable Washington Nationals.”

Erdoğan and Obama had discussed how they could further cooperate on speeding up a political transition in Syria, according to both the White House and Erdoğan's office. “During their talks, they discussed the coordination of efforts to accelerate the process of political transition in Syria, including Bashar al-Assad leaving the administration and meeting the Syrian people's legitimate demands,” a statement from Erdoğan's office said of the 36-minute conversation Monday evening.