Donald Trump held a press event on Friday to highlight the families who had a loved one murdered by illegal immigrants, and many people noticed something strange on all the pictures of the victims: Donald Trump’s signature.
Trump’s event appears to be meant to flip the public narrative after a week in which the president was forced to make an about-face on his administration’s policy to separate immigrant children from their parents after crossing the U.S. border. At Friday’s event, featuring the so-called “Angel Families,” Trump said the families of loved ones killed by illegal immigrants are “permanently separated,” The Week noted.
As the report noted, Trump had some very odd behavior during the press event, including remarking that law enforcement were “good looking people” and noting that one of the victims looked like “Tom Selleck, except better looking.”
As CNN noted, Trump also made the untrue claim that illegal immigrants commit crime at a higher rate than the rest of the U.S. population. He also made clear efforts to shift the focus of the previous week, where his administration drew widespread criticism for the policy of separating immigrant children from their families.
“These are the American citizens permanently separated from their loved ones. The word permanently being the word that you have to think about. Permanently. They are not separated for a day or two days. Permanently separated,” Trump said.
Trump also made the claim that 63,000 Americans have been killed by illegal immigrants since September 11, 2001, though did not offer any evidence to back the claim.
As video from the event spread, many noticed that the pictures of the victims all bore Donald Trump’s signature. It was unclear why Trump decided to autograph the pictures, and the signatures were not addressed during the press event.
? TRUMP HAS AUTOGRAPHED THE PHOTOS OF MURDER VICTIMS ? pic.twitter.com/59wf455ak7
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 22, 2018
This is not the first time that Donald Trump has caused a stir with an errant photograph. At the initial Easter Egg Roll just a few months after he took office, Trump had another odd moment where he signed a hat that a young man offered for him, but then tossed it back into the crowd and not to the boy who had first offered it.
A kid asks Trump to sign his hat at the White House Easter Egg Roll. The president signs … and then tosses the hat into the crowd. pic.twitter.com/7ExdhpO97H
— POLITICO (@politico) April 17, 2017
It’s not clear if the event will help Donald Trump to turn the narrative away from the controversial separation policy. His administration continues to generate criticism, especially as there is no clear plan on how to reunite children held in detention centers with their parents.
