Some members of the legacy media have been caught manipulating photos of Donald Trump at the Manhattan courtroom where he's on trial for bookkeeping charges. The purposes are manifold. Perhaps photographers like a higher-contrast photo—I'm a photog, and I know I do. Maybe they're trying to make him appear more sinister-looking, as happens with the media all the time. Or maybe they fancifully want to make him appear as if he's already in jail.
No, I'm not talking about the cackling coven of crones on "The View" who recently fantasized about which prison they imagined a convicted Donald Trump would be sent to.
"They should make a point, prove a point–put him in the klink," said Sonny Hostin, a lawyer who would have made a great addition to the cadre of political actors sent in to Get Trump in the New York trial.
Whoopie Goldberg said, "I don't want this to sound like I'm wishful thinking, but..." She paused for dramatic effect and added, "Which prison would be best?" That Whoopie really can deliver a line, I'll give her that.
They gleefully mused about sending Trump to Guantanamo Bay, Super Max, or reopening Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay to house the former leader of the free world. Then they all cackled at how funny it would be.
Crazy! 'The View' co-hosts call for Donald Trump to be thrown in jail to 'prove a point' pic.twitter.com/rJKFdlujxG
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) May 8, 2024
"The View" is part of the ABC News umbrella of shows and is quite political and opinionated in nature but no one expects serious political analysis from Whoopie and the gurl gang.
But this photo by NBC News was the most widely circulated on its websites and is about as gobsmacking as rigging a truck to catch fire for video for a story about dangerous trucks (which they really did). Or Chuck Todd interviewing Bernie Sanders many times without once explaining that his wife worked for his campaign. Or the time Chuck refused to allow anyone on the air whose opinion differed from his own about global warming.
Let's set the scene.
Every day before he goes into and comes out of the courtroom, Donald Trump makes a statement to the media while his lead attorney, Todd Blanche, silently watches from a few paces behind the former president. Trump's statements can be about the news of the day, such as campus protesters taking over a building nearby, another poll showing him with an advantage in some swing state, or complaining about his gag order.
The scene is surreal. A uniformed security guard opens a door, and the former president calmly walks into the room, which resembles a spare, unspectacular space built with Soviet efficiency.
Related: On Cue, Media Drops Topic of NYC Case to Pivot to Donald Trump's Courtroom Looks
Trump is trailed by Blanche and his other attorneys. As Trump holds forth, one can see the larger group of Team Trump in the back of the shot, off the former president's right flank amid the security guards and metal barricades all around.
His voice echoes in the large room. It appears that neither the court nor the media have thought to put up directed microphones at a podium or mic stand to better capture the voice of the man. Maybe they want to make Trump, the man who once conducted the affairs of the entire country, look smaller and insignificant.
Immediately after the trial started on April 15 with jury selection, media members began a series of reports about how tired, gaunt, and "old" Trump looked sitting in that freezing courtroom for hours at a time. They claimed he was sleeping. It turns out that Trump closes his eyes a lot while listening to testimony, the Washington Post later admitted.
The judge in this travesty of a case, Juan Merchan, has told Trump he'll lock him up if he keeps breaking his gag order. Trump has basically dared the judge to do it.
But NBC News has actually printed a photo of Trump behind bars, which Morning Joe shared on X:
Secretly recorded phone calls and carefully worded denials: What you missed on Day 10 of Trump's hush money trial https://t.co/icIXPjIDAK
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) May 3, 2024
The Associated Press did something similar when it put this scary-looking feature photo on its video of Trump addressing the media.
And you can see at the 27-second mark what Trump really looked like.
Gee, why would they manipulate the photos like this? For a bookkeeping crime? Really?
