Peking Trump: Our Visual Roundup of the Week

Mirror, mirror on the wall. @reuterspictures #XiJinping #TrumpInChina pic.twitter.com/7K9i0IUyXx

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 9, 2017

Are you also wondering if Trump has peaked? The pictures of his prolonged Asia junket have been as flat and non-eventful as the trip itself — that is, when the press pool wasn’t left on the curb. (So, no side pix with Putin.) The images that mostly stand out (“flattery will get you everywhere”) are the ones of his hosts buttering him up.

The other visual stories that stood out this week include the Democratic/progressive sweep of Tuesday’s election, and still another horrific gun massacre, this time, at a church in Texas. Beyond the sheer redundancy, those photos — mirroring the government’s response to gun violence — were muted too. Focusing specifically on the media, we weigh in on the false attack on Trump for dumping fish food in a koi pond. Many outlets missed the Japanese PM doing the same move. We also marvel at a rapid fire look at NYT front pages and how they have become so visual. (Click on: “Every single New York Times front page since 1852,” and you’ll appreciate why we exist.) Also, check out the NYT article on the rise and airbrushing of China’s President Xi. White House, if you’re listening…that’s how you do propaganda!

Great capture by @JimWatson_AFP. As the world thoroughly gets, the whole ball game is wowing him. #TrumpInChina #XiJinping pic.twitter.com/nQjn2mHMJl

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 9, 2017

.@PressSec briefs reporters after heavy fog canceled an @realDonaldTrump surprise visit to the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) pic.twitter.com/HaIKJy4Ivs

— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) November 8, 2017

Trump DMZ-op taken out by fog. How ironic is that. https://t.co/WsFOACp2iL

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 8, 2017

Via @dougmillsnyt: Like a big red speech balloon. #TrumpKorea pic.twitter.com/a5LwgeVoVb

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 8, 2017

This what our APEC Summit photo coverage looks today in Da Nang Vietnam. Blank. No coverage by the White House Travel Pool photographers traveling with @realDonaldTrump #APEC2017 #apec pic.twitter.com/jFgsJW5OcO

— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) November 11, 2017

Like Coca-Cola. Excellent read on political celebrity: Why Xi Jinping’s (Airbrushed) Face Plastered All Over China https://t.co/YIMCbdF3ul pic.twitter.com/3Pi03VNkMa

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 9, 2017

And poof! Part of Tuesday’s blue tide, @PhilMurphyNJ, new NJ Gov, makes Christie disappear. @AP_Images #Democrats pic.twitter.com/tXXZmqlhvT

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 10, 2017

Transgender candidate defeats GOP bathroom bill sponsor; you can’t make that up. Seeing #DanicaRoem embracing her Va district, and vice-versa, suggests not just Trump blowback, but race & gender equality as pendulum on fierce return. 📷@AP pic.twitter.com/J0O5nxqtnO

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 10, 2017

#Gillespie’s concession last night as depicted by @nytimes. Dark day for the color red. #VirginiaElections #GOP pic.twitter.com/3ItaaDyP4E

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 8, 2017

Was struck by @vanhoutenphoto’s trooper portrait after #SutherlandSprings massacre. The institutional blankness. pic.twitter.com/N8wiVnOH58

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 7, 2017

Not sure this got around. #SutherlandSprings shooter’s parents home, where he lived. Quite a departure from 1 stoplight town. @Reuters pic.twitter.com/259sgmbKoa

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 9, 2017

Here is the church/Here is the steeple/Open the doors & see all the/Unthinkable. (Tears for #SutherlandSprings & innocence) 📷@vanhoutenphoto pic.twitter.com/iFD9NnRUWX

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 6, 2017

Suppression. Battle. Firepower. Survive. Magazine rack, #men’s section, Tampa. Culture of (#gendered) violence. From @ChristopherVII #guns pic.twitter.com/QTzlXw0s56

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 6, 2017

Happening NOW: 100s of DREAMers at the Senate, demanding that the Senate pass a clean #DREAM Act. I stand with them. pic.twitter.com/0hmy9AFF1i

— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) November 9, 2017

Powerful image. Ties Dreamers to highest level of American creativity. https://t.co/K1OBNHPl2x

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 9, 2017

#Delhi it’s own filter. @reutersimages #photography #pollution #climatechange pic.twitter.com/MJEbEf7D5w

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 9, 2017

“Media shows why it’s so mistrusted after falsified Trump fish-feeding ‘story’ ” https://t.co/mWxHdoer3X pic.twitter.com/BuVXI0CnPS

— The Hill (@thehill) November 6, 2017

Two issues here. Yes, media 100% guilty of *gotcha journalism.* And no media standards-of-practice, little appreciation of visual critique. https://t.co/kjPC7k93Hu

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 6, 2017

Every single New York Times front page since 1852. Look at the growth of pictures in news.
(h/t Josh Begley). pic.twitter.com/zLxe01U2QX

— Carl Miller (@carljackmiller) November 3, 2017

We rest our case! https://t.co/drywQbbeV5

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) November 8, 2017

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Photo: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters Caption: Donald and Melania Trump visit the Forbidden City with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, on November 8, 2017.