Donald Trump grasps the power of an image better than most, as evidenced by his decades-long path through pop culture, and to the heights of TV stardom and political power. Trump’s campaign fundraised off his police mugshot last year, and this past week, his political operation seized upon the iconic photo of a bloodied Trump, his fist raised in front of an American flag, shortly after Saturday’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
That image is also emblazoned on T-shirts being sold at this week’s Republican National Convention. Two days after nearly being killed, Trump entered Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum to a “hero’s welcome,” as Vanity Fair’s Eric Lutz put it. The former, and perhaps future, president wore a large, white bandage on his right ear, quickly sparking an unlikely fashion trend among attendees. Of course, since first running in 2016, Trump has inspired a cult-like following on the right, with the near-fatal shooting only seeming to intensify his supporters’ devotion.
Photographer Bruce Gilden chronicled the MAGA faithful at raucous rallies in 2020 for Vanity Fair, as well the Mar-a-Lago inner circle the following year. This week, Gilden captured the Republican Party rallying around Trump for a third time, in a series of stunning photos, from vivid portraits of political allies, like Roger Stone, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Kevin McCarthy, to shots of selfie-taking convention-goers soaking up the spectacle. He checked in on the media circus, getting up close with Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, and found UFC boss Dana White making the rounds.
It’s a remarkable display of a political party in thrall to one man, and a scenario few could’ve predicted three and a half years ago, when Trump left office in disgrace after inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol. But despite four indictments—and one conviction—Trump took the stage Thursday night as the party’s standard-bearer. He began in an uncharacteristically subdued manner, recounting last Saturday’s shooting, only to veer into a rambling stump speech, offering a dark, right-wing vision for America before the balloons dropped.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRUCE GILDEN / MAGNUM PHOTOS.