Report: Trump Banned AP After Agency Refused to Hand Over Rights to Butler Assassination Photo

Key facts

• AP refused to give President Donald Trump the rights to Evan Vucci's photographs of the July 13, 2024 Butler assassination attempt, according to a New York Times report.
• Two people present at a private lunch between Trump and network anchors said White House aides cited the rights refusal as part of the reason AP was banned from Oval Office and Air Force One meetings.
• AP had previously fallen out with Trump early in his second term over its refusal to change its stylebook entry from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
• Vucci, then an AP staffer, took the photo on July 13, 2024, capturing Trump moments after being grazed by a bullet.
• Trump, then the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, raised his right fist and shouted "fight, fight, fight" as blood streamed down his cheek.
• Less than a year later, Vucci testified in court on AP's behalf after the agency was banned from the White House and Air Force One; his testimony was cited as key to AP's legal victory restoring White House access.
• Trump said of the photo: "A lot of people say it's the most iconic photo they've ever seen. They're right and I didn't die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture."
• Vucci left his role as AP's chief photographer in Washington, D.C., earlier this year and moved to Reuters as a senior photojournalist while remaining in D.C.