Trump cover-up escalates as photo editor at popular publication 'wants to ban iconic raised fist photo for making GOP nominee look too good'

An editor at a major news outlet wants the press to stop using the iconic photo of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump because it represents 'free PR' for his campaign.

The unnamed editor told Axios that sharing the historic photo of the former president standing after he survived the attempt on his life is 'dangerous despite how good it is.'

Liberal-leaning Axios reported that multiple unnamed photographers told them they were worried the image taken by Pulitzer winner Evan Fucci could turn into 'photoganda' by the Trump campaign to 'further their agenda, despite the photographers' intent of capturing a news event.'

One photographer said the photo could become a 'propaganda machine' and make Trump a 'martyr.'

The photograph of a bloodied Donald Trump with his fist in the air and an American flag looming in the background is quickly emerging as the pivotal image of Saturday’s shooting.

Video of the assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally filled television screens before it was even clear what had happened. 

Yet the work of The Associated Press’ Evan Vucci, Getty’s Anna Moneymaker and Doug Mills of The New York Times — whose picture caught apparent evidence of a bullet whizzing past Trump’s head — proved the enduring potency of still photography in a world driven by a flood of moving pictures.

Vucci’s image, one of many he took on Saturday, could also have political implications from many directions — as indelible images often do in the days and years after seismic events happen. 

'Without question, Evan’s photo will become the definitive photo from the (assassination) attempt,' Patrick Witty, a former photo editor at Time, The New York Times and National Geographic told the Associated Press. 

'It captures a range of complex details and emotions in one still image — the defiantly raised fist, the blood, the agents clamoring to push Trump off stage and, most importantly, the flag. That’s what elevates the photo.'

Authorities are still working to figure out how 20-year-old Thomas Crooks was able to nearly shoot Trump in the head.

So far, there has been no public disclosure the shooter left any writings, suicide note, social media screed or any other indicator explaining his reasons for targeting Trump. 

A law enforcement official briefed on the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Crooks’ phone had not immediately yielded any meaningful clues related to motive, or whether he acted alone or with others. 

Crooks’ political leanings were also hazy. Crooks was registered as a Republican in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on January 20, 2021, the day Democratic President Joe Biden was sworn into office.