Stephen A. Smith declares shooter 'handed' election to Trump: 'You can't buy a better photo'
Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith argued that Trump's survival of the attempt on his life, and his brave reaction to it, "handed him the election."
Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith argued on his podcast that the attempt on former President Trump’s life "secured" his victory in the 2024 election.
Trump’s response after almost being assassinated, standing tall with his fist in the air as a flag waved nearby, instantly became an iconic image, praised by both his supporters and critics alike.
"In my opinion, the shooter, he just handed Donald Trump the election," he said on an episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show titled "Donald Trump is untouchable." "That is what I believe. Of course, I don’t know that as fact. Of course, things could change; but, in my opinion, he just handed Donald Trump the election."
"Ladies and gentlemen, you can’t buy — I’ve been in media for 30 years — you can’t buy a better photo than what Donald Trump has at this disposal as we speak," he said. He then recalled the incident and how Trump had "blood trickling down his ear and the right side of his face" and then he "raises his fist, cringing his face up. ‘Fight, fight, fight.’ He says it three times. And while raising his fist, surrounded by Secret Service agents, the American flag is behind him. Ladies and gentlemen, you can’t buy a better photo than that if you’re a politician!"
Smith argued that beyond the rally itself, the media has been praising Trump in a way that gives him an advantage over his opponent in the election.
"Listen to the pundits on TV talking about how strong, how vibrant, how courageous, and they were using these words, and not coincidentally it was the antithesis of what they've been saying about President Biden," he said.
"Make no mistake about it, Donald Trump, in my opinion, secured the presidency with this," he argued. "A Donald Trump that was impeached twice, a Donald Trump that had a $454 million settlement levied against him, a Donald Trump that was convicted on 34 felony counts yet was still the presumptive GOP nominee, that Donald Trump is now a martyr."
He went on to argue that a photo like this is uniquely powerful in an American society that puts such a high value on imagery.
"You can slice it anyway you want to," he said. "If you’re talking about America and the kind of impact visuals have on our society, good or bad, as a politician, it don't get any better than the picture, by the Associated Press by the way, that you see of Donald Trump surrounded by Secret Service agents raising his fist, telling, imploring folks to continue to fight, with the American flag behind him, it doesn't get any better than that, ladies and gentlemen."
Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci captured the image that immediately went viral and landed on newspaper front pages while dominating digital news sites and social media platforms across the world.
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Some in the photojournalism business agreed with Smith's assessment of the effect of the photo and expressed concern.
An Axios media trend assessment on Tuesday argued that the "overuse" of the iconic image can "pose risks," citing unnamed photographers who reportedly told the outlet that promoting the viral photos could be a form of "photoganda" because the Trump campaign will use them to "further their agenda, despite the photographers' intent of capturing a news event."
"The amount that publications have been using Evan's photo is kind of free PR for Trump in a way, and it's dangerous for media organizations to keep sharing that photo despite how good it is," an unnamed photo editor at a major news outlet told Axios.
Washington Post art critic Phillip Kennicott called it "a photograph that could change America forever."
Vucci, a Pulitzer winner who has covered thousands of similar events for the AP since 2003, told Fox News Digital that he understood he was experiencing a historic moment in time as shots rang out in the direction of the former president.
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"I was literally just thinking about doing the best possible job I could, because I knew that this was a moment in American history that I had to be at the top of my game for," Vucci told Fox News Digital on Monday from Milwaukee, where he was preparing to photograph the Republican National Convention.
"I knew immediately that it was going to be one of the most important things I'll ever photograph," he added, "and that I needed to do the best job possible."
Trump himself addressed the now world-famous photo during an interview with the New York Post on Monday, saying, "A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen. They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture."