‘This Was Photoshopped, Obviously’: Trump Blasts Much-Derided Image of Himself Crossing South Lawn as Fake News, But…
President Donald Trump was livid on Saturday over a photo, shared online Friday by photographer William Moon, that became a meme for its less-than-flattering capture of his face looking two-toned in the wind as he returned from Charlotte, NC to the White House.
“More Fake News. This was photoshopped, obviously,” said President Trump, retweeting someone who was mocking the image. ” Anything to demean!”
More Fake News. This was photoshopped, obviously, but the wind was strong and the hair looks good? Anything to demean! https://t.co/t8ptYMCYHf
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2020
Moon shared two versions on his @WhiteHousePhotos Twitter account.
@realDonaldTrump returns to the White House from Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by William Moon at the South Lawn of the White House on February 7, 2020 pic.twitter.com/n1a1Z93LrJ
— White House Photos (@photowhitehouse) February 7, 2020
Today, @realDonaldTrump was dancing with the sunset and strong winds when he walked to the Oval Office from the Marine One on the South Lawn.. Photo by William Moon in the White House on February 7, 2020 pic.twitter.com/GURvi4UeSO
— White House Photos (@photowhitehouse) February 8, 2020
And those photos were then shared by a lot of people in a joking or mocking manner…
Didn’t Trudeau just get in trouble for this pic.twitter.com/v6QfCrL9vZ
— Chase Mitchell (@ChaseMit) February 8, 2020
Who wore it better? #Wilson #Trump pic.twitter.com/Ms1sWrABYD
— Lenny Jacobson (@Lennyjacobson) February 8, 2020
… which eventually led to Trump’s response (above).
Trump’s claim that the image is photoshopped is undermined by the fact that the same basic shot of his face at that moment is available from multiple sources.
For example, photos of his arrival are available now from Getty Images, as seen in the below slides. Getty attributes the image to Al Drago, for Bloomberg.
As Buzzfeed notes, the degree of pigmentation on Trump’s face as he crossed the lawn slightly different depending on the wire service. The AP photo, from Oliver Contreras/SIPA USA, has a more washed-out appearance. (No embed code is offered at AP.)
The replies and retweets of Trump’s objection have, naturally, started a second wave of war over whether this was a deliberate attempt to “demean” the President or simply an unflattering set of photos from different photographers on the same day at the same time showing the same thing.
