Took iconic photo - now he is not allowed to approach Trump

Donald Trump

Took iconic photo - not allowed to approach Trump: "Dead"

Johan Edgar

Published 00.04

The photographer took the photo of Trump after the assassination attempt. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP

He took the iconic photo of Donald Trump with his fist in the air after the assassination attempt.

Now he is not allowed to approach the president.

All because of one word.

The assassin's bullet grazed Donald Trump's ear during the election rally in Pennsylvania last July.

At the risk of his own life, AP photographer Evan Vucci chose to continue working.

It gave him the opportunity to capture the moment when the presidential candidate got to his feet and, with blood on his face, clenched his fist in front of the shocked spectators.

“Killing us”

Now the photographer, with 21 years of experience following presidents in the White House, is banned from approaching the Oval Office and Donald Trump.

– It’s killing us. We’re destroyed. Being in the room is absolutely crucial, Vucci said in court on Thursday, according to Politico.

Evan Vucci, second from left, and some of the AP’s representatives outside the court. Photo: Kevin Wolf / AP

The AP is now trying to get a judge to overturn the president’s order to bar the news agency from the White House and other official events.

It is the AP’s decision to continue calling the gulf between the southern coast of the United States and Mexico the Gulf of Mexico that sparked Trump’s anger.

By presidential order, Trump changed the name of the US part of the gulf to the American Gulf.

Trump has renamed the Gulf of Mexico

Ported from historical dispute

But AP believes that since it is an international news agency with clients all over the world, it is more appropriate to keep the established name.

In court, Vucci told how it felt not to have been able to be part of the major news events that have occurred around the president since the suspension began six weeks ago.

He missed, among other things, the historic fight in the Oval Office between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj.

- It hurts us enormously. It is hard for a photographer to sit still without having anything to do, says Vucci according to Politico.

Vucci told Judge Trevor McFadden how important it is for him to be faster than his competitors in sending home images.

Caught the shoe against Bush

And about other images he has taken that have become iconic.

Among other things, in 2008, when he captured the moment an Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at then-President George W. Bush.

Evan Vucci captured the moment an Iraqi reporter threw a shoe at George W. Bush. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP

But there was also laughter in court.

Justice Department lawyer Brian Hudak showed pictures that freelance photographers had taken on behalf of the AP during the news agency's shutdown.

A picture of Trump and Macron did not appeal to Vucci.

- The exposure is completely wrong. I'm sorry, he said.

In court, Zeke Miller, AP's chief White House correspondent, said that the attempts to force the news agency to change its decision have consequences for other media companies - and for citizens.

– I have noticed what I think is a softer tone in the questions that some other reporters are asking, he says, according to Politico.