No, Kevin Abourezk did not support Trump, but he understood the power of the image that propelled him to the presidency

Something was brought up to me by a friend who had heard that I had voted for Donald Trump. She said others believed the same thing about me, and I feel the need to address this.

As I’m sure we all remember, Trump was grazed by a bullet on July 13, 2024, during an assassination attempt. That day, an Associated Press photographer got a photo of then candidate Trump raising his fist with a bloody right ear while Secret Service agents ushered him off the stage.

That day, I posted that photo on my Facebook feed with the description: “Four more years.”

I then allowed the post to float out in the ether without clarifying what I meant by it. That’s my fault, but allow me to explain what I meant by the post.

As a journalist who has studied the history of journalism in this country, I know the power of photographs — the flag-raising over Iwo Jima, the South Vietnamese police officer shooting the Viet Cong captain in the head, and Chief Big Foot, aka Spotted Elk, lying in the snow at Wounded Knee. A powerful image can shift public opinion and define a chapter in American history for future generations.

When I saw the photo of Trump raising his fist after the shooting, I knew that his race against Kamala Harris had been decided. Imagine if it had been Kamala who had survived such an act of violence. Every liberal in America would have rallied behind her, and I knew that’s just what conservatives would do on Trump’s behalf.

I never meant my post to mean that I supported Trump, only that I understood the gravity of the moment.

I was angry. I knew that I — all of us — would have to endure four more years of fierce political division and erosion of progressive reforms. I certainly wasn’t looking forward to having to open my phone each day to learn what damage the president had wrought that day.

I made that post and then walked away, determined to remove myself from social media until my temper and anxiety eased. Later, I discovered people had begun questioning why I had made the post and I attempted to clarify my decision in the comments of the photo. Later, I took the post down, thinking that was the best way to address the situation.

I was wrong. I should have clarified the meaning of the post within the post itself, as well as in the comments section.

In conclusion, let me say this: my work as a Native advocate, my work an Indigenous journalist documenting the lives and accomplishments of Native people over the past 26 years, and every word I’ve ever said publicly (or privately for that matter) and every action I’ve ever taken on behalf of my Indigenous relatives should make it clear where I stand in my beliefs.

If you know me, I shouldn’t have to defend myself. But I realize that not everyone knows me, so I wanted to explain the origins of this confusing post.

I made a mistake. Simple as that.

Kevin Abourezk is the deputy managing editor of Indian Country Today and an award-winning film producer who has spent his 24-year career in journalism documenting the lives, accomplishments and tragedies of Native American people. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of South Dakota and a master’s in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons

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