sg777 Donald Trump and the Meaning of a Raised Fist

This is an installment of Visual Studiessg777, a series that explores how images move through and shape culture.

On July 13, in a “fight or flight” moment, Donald Trump demonstrated himself to be an Olympian performer, making a potent impression by thrusting his fist into the air immediately after an attempt on his life. An iconic image was instantly born.

Watching Mr. Trump co-opt this posture of protest, I couldn’t help thinking about the broader history of political gestures. While doing research for a video installation about political rhetoric, I discovered that there were hardly any dramatic hand movements in televised presidential speeches until George H.W. Bush was inaugurated in 1989. How did our politicians find their way from minimal movement, to polished oratorical gestures, to posing as activists?

Mr. Trump’s raised fist is the latest chapter in the story of a political gesture. Clenching the fist, a signal performed to initiate the “people’s fight,” asserts that one has been victimized by the powers that be.ImageDonald Trump is rushed off the stage after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., in July.In America, the gesture is almost synonymous with the Black Panthers, whose raised fists stood against racial injustice and white supremacy. Often accompanied by the cry, “Power to the people,” it was a call to arms by the oppressed, an expression of rebellion and defiance.ImageBerkeley, Calif., in 1968.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.sg777

• The
• and
• Trump
• sg777
• Donald