A photo from Donald Trump's rally in Indiana on Thursday night went viral, but for once, Trump was nowhere near the frame. Instead the shot that quickly made its way around the Internet features one of his pre-press volunteers blocking a photographer's camera so aggressively that his hand completely covers the lens. Luckily, there was another photographer behind him to grab that image, which people are saying is emblematic of Donald Trump's combative, dangerous relationship to the press.
The photographer, Evan Vucci, posted the image on Instagram, saying that the volunteer was blocking his fellow photojournalist from taking a picture of a demonstrator at the event.
Both Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are in the Midwest to help stump for GOP candidates in Senate races: Trump is campaigning for Mike Braun in Indiana, while Pence is supporting Leah Vukmir in Wisconsin. It seems hugely symbolic that on the same day the photo was taken in Indiana, the FBI arrested a man in California for making terrorist threats to kill the employees of the Boston Globe—a man who repeated the very same phrase that Trump has used to describe the media, the "enemy of the people." The 68-year-old man called with threats and harassments for nearly a week, citing the paper's criticism of Trump's denouncement of the media. In one call, he said, "Because you are the enemy of the people, and I want you to go fuck yourself. As long as you keep attacking the president, in the continuation of your treasonous and seditious acts, I will continue to threats, harass, and annoy the Boston Globe, owned by The New York Times, the other fake news." (The New York Times does not own the Boston Globe.)
Trump used that same phrase himself yesterday, hours before his volunteer was physically interfering with the press' ability to do their job at the Indiana rally. "I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is," Trump tweeted. "Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda. This includes fake books, which come out about me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction. Enemy of the People!"
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1035122954697433088
But Trump didn't always hate the press, or at least all of it. On Thursday it was also revealed that Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen tried to buy damaging stories purchased by American Media, Inc., which owns the National Enquirer, the paper that would "catch and kill" stories like his alleged affairs with Stormy Daniels and Karen Macdougal.
Trump's anti-press rhetoric isn't just ironic; it's despotic. Remember that it has only been two months since five journalists were murdered at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, MD; Trump's openly hostile rhetoric on the press has dangerous implications in the real world, not just online. Evan Vucci's photo seems to represent how doggedly Trump and his administration want to keep journalists from documenting his presidency, and how little he cares for the 1st amendment (unless it's for the alt-right).
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1035344573554409473
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