Trump reportedly grew furious with his aides over media coverage of his trips to Dayton and El Paso

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

A plan concocted by President Trump's aides concerning his visits this week to El Paso and Dayton — both sites of mass shootings last weekend — backfired, The New York Times reports.

Trump's staff reportedly kept reporters away from the president during his visit, mainly to avoid overwhelming patients in recovery, three people briefed on what took place told the Times. But when Trump began noticing negative headlines about his trip while watching television on Air Force One, he reportedly grew furious, ordering his aides to begin producing proof that people were, in fact, happy to see him.

So, the aides began distributing photos and video of Trump posing with doctors, nurses, and family members, including one photo in which he's giving a thumbs up while standing alongside the brother of a victim, who says he began receiving hate calls after the photograph circulated. A White House official told the Times that Trump was not being insensitive, but rather showing his "authentic" self, by being approachable and supportive, while posing for the photograph.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Regardless, the Times notes that the situation was in line with the idea that Trump is highly reactive to news coverage and is very desirous of accolades when he thinks he does something that deserves praise. Read more at The New York Times.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.