Figures Larger than Life: Our Social Week

It’s been a great week for pictures that bring us close—physically and psychologically—to the larger than life protagonists on the political stage. Michael Cohen’s ordeal before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday teemed with expressive imagery, and not just because the former Trump lawyer’s Big Apple persona feels straight out of central casting. The stalwart photographers of the Capitol press pool have gotten very good at separating pomp from circumstance in the Trump era (Lord knows they’ve had the practice). Making an interesting photo in a House committee hearing is more than challenging, what with bad lighting and even worse angles, but photographs from recent testimonies—from Zuckerberg to Kavanaugh to Cohen—have dripped with drama.

 Equally noteworthy, the Kim–Trump summit in Hanoi produced a smattering of visual highlights from an event that went bad without much explanation. Some of the best pictures are snapped surreptitiously (a sequence of Kim Jong-un taking smoke breaks is notable); others are standard handshake-and-pose scenarios, which nonetheless reveal loads about the stagecraft of statecraft. Despite, or in part because of his visual reputation for buffoonery, Kim often comes across as more authentic than his American counterpart. Trump’s incessant, cringe-inducing dad smile might placate his base, but the expression could be getting lost in translation when deployed against his North Korean rival. Kim isn’t just playing hard to get here—he’s using the platform handed him by the Americans to double down on his fantasy of the DPRK as a legitimate nuclear power.

Checkmate. 📷 @gregnashphoto @instagram. #CohenHearing pic.twitter.com/t5fJVurSLA

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) February 28, 2019

Our two favs from Somodevilla: 1.) The choir boy shot. 2.) It’s not your GOP house anymore. 📷 @somogettynews #CohenHearing @RepCummings pic.twitter.com/W3hOVgm88E

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) February 28, 2019

To the extent personality rules the day, the Bronx/Long Island encounter was much anticipated. The @AP pic was literally in passing, and @AOC looked startled. But during her crisp 5 minutes (@GettyImages), it was just the fact, man. https://t.co/wCaZu1tOJq #MichaelCohenHearing pic.twitter.com/lKR4w2kc3L

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) February 28, 2019

Trump’s summit manner is painfully cloying. Contrived as it is, the put-on sweet face is Trump in Don Juan mode, with #KimJongUn (and, he presumes, the Nobel) as his prize. https://t.co/QoeGNVfyrR 📷 @LeahMillis @reuterspictures #TrumpKimSummit #NotNormal pic.twitter.com/A7uA9Ge8O7

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) February 27, 2019

WAPO suggests #KimJongUn “stolen drag” in China, caught by Japan TV during Viet train slog, shows vulnerability, and that he’s not up to the attention. Just wait. On his second substance-free US summit, and in terrific contrast to the WH, he’s got the optics down. #TrumpKimSummit pic.twitter.com/v3pI1ARa7u

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) February 26, 2019

A great re-read as KJU cues it up again. From the Olympics to Singapore: #KimJongUn‘s Remarkable Visual Makeover: https://t.co/WBzj41M1XJ #TrumpKimVietnam pic.twitter.com/TmTwQZNXeh

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) February 25, 2019

Simply one shot from the avalanche of media images dignifying #KimJongUn this week–photos that can’t help but soften and personalize. All by virtue of a @WhiteHouse that makes no distinction between form and substance. @reuterspictures #DaNang train station. #TrumpKimSummit pic.twitter.com/kSmInOGP7k

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) February 27, 2019

What’s truly ironic is, they seem exactly on the same page. #TrumpKimSummit 📷 @saulloeb @AFPphoto pic.twitter.com/BmjM9poJ6Z

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 1, 2019

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Caption: Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump prepares to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC.