The Associated Press (AP) photographer who snapped a now widely reshared image of former President Donald Trump’s fist pump and bl00died face has described how he covered Saturday’s shooting from various angles in the heat of the moment.
Evan Vucci, who has covered Trump for years, said he understood the incident’s significance after hearing “several pops” over his left shoulder. I knew immediately it was gunfire,” Vucci said in a video posted on the AP’s website. “So I looked at the stage and I saw the Secret Service agents rushing to President Trump.”
He said that Secret Service agents dove on top of Trump just after the assassination attempt and he ran to different angles to snap the images of the moment.
Vucci added that he also ran to the rally stage and snapped several photos of agents piling on top of Trump and the Secret Service’s counter-assault team arriving. He said that to his right, he could see members of the Secret Service counter-assault team arriving.
That was when he took his now-famous photo of Trump’s bl00d streaked face, pumping his fist in the air as security agents ushered the former president off-stage.
Evan Vucci said that “In my mind, it all happened really fast. At the moment I heard the shots being fired I knew that this was a moment of American history that had to be documented.
Vucci’s photo of Trump has become a social-media rallying cry among Republicans and MAGA figures, who say it is a symbol of the former president’s strength and defiance.
Trump was whisked away in an SUV after the attempted assassination in Pennsylvania. The former president was speaking at a rally on Saturday when he was interrupted by gunshots. His right ear was bleeding.
In a statement released after he was escorted away, the former president said a bullet had struck his ear and he was “fine.” The FBI has classified the incident as an assassination attempt and identified the shooting suspect as a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Authorities said the suspect was shot dead. A spectator in the crowd was k!lled during the assassination attempt, and two others were critically injured.
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