For many Americans, the horror and gravity of Saturday night’s shooting at a rally for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania was quickly captured by one image: the former president, blood streaming down his face, raising his fist in defiance.
One of the most shared photos was taken by Associated Press chief photographer Evan Vucci. It was one of many images taken after the shooting that will surely enter the pantheon of American photography.
“The pinnacle of photojournalism. A perfectly framed and composed image of historic breaking news,” New York Times journalist Matina Stevis-Gridneff captioned Vucci’s X photo.
As Trump began speaking Saturday, four newsroom photographers were positioned around the podium in an area known as the buffer, just five or 10 feet from the president. As the shooting began, the photographers scrambled to find a better position to capture the chaos, potentially putting themselves in the line of fire.
According to the photographers, the Trump team normally gives photographers about five minutes at the beginning of each campaign speech to take pictures. Because the shooting in this case occurred just before the event began, the photographers were able to capture it up close.
Vucci stood to the left of the stage and, along with other photographers, ran to where he thought Trump would dismount after the shooting began.
“All I kept telling myself was, ‘Slow down. Slow down. Compose. Slow down,’” he said. “I knew I had to do this. This was such an important moment in American history. It had to be documented. If you don’t stay sober, you can’t do the job.”
Vucci, a 20-year veteran of the press corps, said he wasn’t afraid — even when some campaign workers worried about a possible second shooter. “I didn’t think about it for a second,” he said. “I have to be there. I can’t hide. I can’t hide behind the podium. I have to do my job.”
Jabin Botsford, a photographer for The Washington Post, was walking from the back of the stage to the front when the shooting began.
“I heard the first bang and I thought, ‘Oh, weird. Fireworks,’” he said. “It was super scary. Nobody knew what was going on. The president fell to the ground and I wanted to take a picture of it, even though the staff said, ‘You have to get on the ground.’”
Botsford was also able to capture video of the aftermath because he was wearing a pair of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses that can take 30-second videos, which he had “somehow” turned on.
Washington Post photographer Jabin Botsford documented the July 13 shooting at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Here’s what he saw. (Video: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Times photographer Doug Mills captured what appeared to be a stream of bullets in the air as they passed Trump’s head. Former Associated Press photographer Haraz N. Ghanbari called it “a remarkable photograph.”
Mills said in an interview with the Times that the poolside photographers “were all pushing to get our normal shots,” until he heard what he thought was a popping sound from a car. Trump “went behind the lectern and I thought, ‘Oh my God, something happened.’”
As he rushed to get a better shot, Mills said he feared for his life. “My first thought was, ‘Am I going to get shot?’ It was scary. I’ve never been in a more horrific scene.”
Getty staff photographer Anna Moneymaker was able to capture Trump onstage, apparently between the legs of an officer.
The photographers have received widespread praise for their work, particularly in a violent and chaotic environment. “Their iconic images were instantly seen around the world and will be added to the indelible visual record of history,” said Jessica Koscielniak, president of the White House News Photographers Association. “Yesterday’s event only underscores the critical importance and necessity for visual journalists to be present and close to candidates and elected officials.”
After the shooting, the photographers went to a tent for about 30 minutes, Mills said. They came out to take pictures of the empty field and the items left behind, including cellphones and a motorized wheelchair.
“We just walked into total emptiness,” Botsford said.
Vucci was among Associated Press photographers who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for their coverage of the protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. He has also covered combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, an experience that helped him stay calm and collected, he said.
“My job as a photographer is to show the viewer, through my eyes, the world before me,” he said. “I felt like we were all doing that.”
Botsford, like Vucci, had little time to rest or reflect on what happened Saturday.
“I’m still trying to process it all,” he said Sunday from his Milwaukee hotel. “There’s a lot going through my head. It’s still, like, disbelief.”
