The case of Trump vs. Cruz during the battle
between the two Republican candidates for President in 2016, clearly
demonstrates how a picture can be used as a dangerous weapon; how powerful,
cruel and swift using an image to send a message can be.
It all started
with a campaign video published in Arizona, in which there appeared a photo of
Melania Trump, Donald Trump’s wife, laying naked on a bed in a suggestive
pose. The caption: “Meet Melania Trump. Your next First Lady. Or, you could
support Ted Cruz on Tuesday.” The photo had previously been published in an
American magazine, while Melania was cultivating her modeling career.
Retaliation wasn’t far behind. Trump tweeted a photo
of his wife alongside one of Heidi Cruz, Ted’s wife, caught in an unflattering
pose. He wrote, “The images are worth a thousand words.”
Ted Cruz denied that it was his camp who had published
Melania’s nude photo; to which Donald immediately replied, “Lyin’
Ted Cruz denied that he had anything to do with the GQ model photo post of Melania.
That’s why we call him Lyin’ Ted!” When Trump published the photo of angry
Heidi alongside glamorous Melania, Cruz reacted: “Donald, real men don't attack
women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life.”
As I said, a picture can be used as an
aggressive and influential weapon, because the viewer can be manipulated with
the image’s placement and title. This technique is extensively utilized both in
journalism and in advertising. Even if we know that someone artificially placed
the images side by side for effect, it can have a tremendous influence on us.
Trump’s announcement that he wouldn’t use that picture again was lip service,
since Trump’s message was already heard loud and clear. It contributed to the
downfall of Cruz’s political campaign.
In July 2016, against
all odds, Donald Trump was elected the Republican Presidential candidate. His
aggressive campaign and use of images to convey his message were keys to
Trump’s success; as for the means - to each his own. After all – that's what
democracy is all about
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