AP Photographer Evan Vucci Who Took Iconic Trump Image Testifies on Ban
An Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic image of Trump with his fist raised and blood on his face after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania has testified on the White House ban of his news agency.
The AP is still banned indefinitely from the White House and Air Force One for its refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
Yesterday, the chief photographer for the AP in Washington, Evan Vucci, testified during a hearing in his company’s legal challenge to the White House ban. Vucci says that AP is “really struggling to keep up” with its competitors.
“It’s hurting us big time,” Vucci tells the news organization’s attorney, Charles Tobin. “We’re basically dead in the water on major news stories … It’s been a rough stretch for a photographer to sit around not doing anything.”
Vucci points to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s contentious meeting in the Oval Office last month between Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Vucci reveals that because AP photographers and reporters are banned, the agency had to rely on a foreign-based photographer for coverage — who Vucci says did a sub-optimal job.
“We just absolutely got slammed in the play,” Vucci says of the meeting that generated headlines across the world. “We got destroyed.”
Vucci says the foreign photographer simply lacked the experience and skill to transmit photos in seconds — something that has become standard for top news operations.
Later in the hearing, Vucci was shown a photo of Trump and Macron taken by a freelancer who sold the image to AP. Vucci denigrated the photo, prompting laughter from the courtroom.
“The exposure’s clearly off, sir,” he says. “I’m sorry … Associated Press photographers are the gold standard.”
CNN reports that Justice Department attorney Brian Hudak cross-examined Vucci, asking questions about how AP has been harmed financially by the White House. Vucci says he is not the person to speak to about that.
US District Judge Trevor McFadden asked Vucci if he has changed how he captured the president since the ban was put into place. Vucci denied it.
“My approach doesn’t change,” he says. “I’m a professional.”
AP is trying to convince McFadden to order the Trump administration to restore AP’s access to the White House. McFadden, a judge appointed by Trump, has so far declined to take action.
Image credits: Evan Vucci/AP
