The photograph of a bloodied Donald Trump with his fist in the air and an American flag looming in the background is quickly emerging as the pivotal image of…
The photograph of a bloodied Donald Trump with his fist in the air and an American flag looming in the background is quickly emerging as the pivotal image of Saturday’s shooting, and it wouldn’t exist without a journalist who acted quickly and on a hunch.
Video of the assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally filled television screens before it was even clear what had happened. Yet the work of The Associated Press’ Evan Vucci, Getty’s Anna Moneymaker and Doug Mills of The New York Times — whose picture caught apparent evidence of a bullet whizzing past Trump’s head — proved the enduring potency of still photography in a world driven by a flood of moving pictures.
Vucci’s image, one of many he took on Saturday, could also have political implications from many directions — as indelible images often do in the days and years after seismic events happen.
“Without question, Evan’s photo will become the definitive photo from the (assassination) attempt,” said Patrick Witty, a former photo editor at Time, The New York Times and National Geographic. “It captures a range of complex details and emotions in one still image — the defiantly raised fist, the blood, the agents clamoring to push Trump off stage and, most importantly, the flag. That’s what elevates the photo.”
The New York Post ran the photo across the tabloid’s front page on Sunday with a headline describing the former president as “bloodied but unbowed.” Time magazine has put it on its cover. “A legendary American photograph,” The Atlantic wrote in a headline over a story about the image.
It all made one thing clear: After more than 175 years of photography, freezing a moment in time for posterity remains as powerful as recounting it in video — and, sometimes, even more so.
Many news photographers, including AP’s Gene Puskar, were on assignment in various locations around Saturday’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.
