People Are Criticising Images of Trump Working in the Hospital as They Look Staged

In a shocking turn of events, US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19 five days ago (2 Oct).

Confusion ensued regarding his diagnosis and treatment. More uncertainties cloud the US election that is due to happen next month.

During this period of social and political unrests, it seems Trump isn’t afforded the luxury to rest.

Trump Working Hard While Receiving Treatment

On Saturday (Oct 3), the White House released photos of Trump working hard at the hospital while receiving Covid-19 treatment.

In one image, Trump was seen clad in a dark suit while writing on a piece of paper.

In another, he was seated at the end of a long conference table, sifting through documents in a white shirt.

Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, shared one of the pictures on Twitter and captioned: “Nothing can stop him from working for the American people. RELENTLESS!”

Nothing can stop him from working for the American people. RELENTLESS! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/2ZSat782qe

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) October 4, 2020

But…

#Staged?

Due to differences in clothing and venue, the photos create an impression that Trump had been working throughout the day.

However, Mr Jon Ostrower, editor-in-chief of aviation news site The Air Current, discovered through the metadata that they were in fact taken only ten minutes apart.

“The photos released by the WH tonight of the President working at Walter Reed were taken 10 minutes apart at 5:25:39 pm and 5:35:40 pm ET Saturday, according to the Exif data embedded in both AP wire postings that were shared by the White House this evening,” he tweeted.

White House reporter Andrew Feinberg also tweeted that upon closer inspection, Trump “appears to be signing his name to a blank sheet of paper”.

The findings went viral on Twitter under the hashtag #Staged. Netizens are accusing Trump and his administration of staging the photos.

The issue adds fuel to controversies over misinformation from Trump’s presidential campaign.

“We’re living through the reality TV presidency,” stated one popular Tweet.

So far, Trump has returned to the White House, and doesn’t seem to be taking more images.