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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP
When an assassination attempt was made on then US presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania in July last year, one “iconic” photo from Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci went viral when it depicted a defiant Trump raising his fist in the air as he was bundled away by Secret Service personnel.
And now, following a press conference on weight loss drugs in the Oval Office on Thursday – in which a representative from a pharmaceutical company collapsed while Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks was speaking – social media users have been sharing another press photo as “one for the history books”.
As the man was helped to the ground with his legs raised, Trump rose from his seat at his desk and watched as the individual was supported by others in attendance. Outlets initially said the person was Novo Nordisk executive Gordon Finlay, but the company later denied it was him.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt went on to confirm in a statement that the person in question was OK.
But while the incident was unfolding, one photograph taken by Getty Images’ Andrew Harnik has got Twitter/X users talking, as it showed Trump standing behind his desk with a neutral expression on his face while several people tended to the collapsed representative in the background.
When journalist Aaron Rupar shared the image online on Thursday, he wrote that it was an “incredible photo that’s definitely worth at least 1,000 words” from Harnik:
“This picture. My God,” commented reporter Sam Stein:
Trump biographer Seth Abramson said it was “officially one of the strangest pictures in American history”:
Actor John Cleese claimed Trump was “seething because he’s not the centre of attention for a moment”:
Writer and comedian Frank Conniff said it was a “Pulitzer Prize photo”:
Lawyer Matt Martens tweeted that the snap “captures his entire career”:
Political commentator Brian Allen said it was a “defining moment in his presidency”:
Podcaster Dan Pfeiffer said “the metaphors are endless”:
And another user joked Trump “looks like the substitute teacher whose class just caught fire”:
indy100 has approached the White House for comment.
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