Explained: What Does Trump's Raised Fist Gesture Mean?

The photo of Donald Trump taken moments after an attempted assassination has become an iconic American image. It shows Trump surrounded by Secret Service agents, raising a clenched fist, with an American flag fluttering in the background.

Trump told the New York Post, "A lot of people say it's the most iconic photo they've ever seen. They're right and I didn't die. Usually, you have to die to have an iconic picture," as reported by First Post

Gesture Origins

The clenched fist gesture has an ancient and interesting history. According to Buzzfeed, a book on art titled Assyrian Origins depicts artworks with clenched fists going back to ancient times. These works were linked to procreation, prayer, and the manifestation of sheer physical strength.

The late researcher Roland Posner, former head of the Semiotics Department at the Technical University of Berlin, noted that the fist is an ancient gesture, joining the strength of the hand and the arm. This gesture can represent both a threat and a challenge. In the Stone Age, people likely clenched their fists to defend their cave, family, supplies, and fire. Artwork on 2,000-to-3,000-year-old Greek vases also depicts fists clenched in victory or making rude gestures., as reported by AP.

The late German ethnologist Gottfried Korff stated that the gesture first began appearing to represent the working class in the 19th and 20th centuries. Korff wrote that the hand is more than just an organic, muscular gripping instrument; it has a closeness to manual work, and the explosive power of social issues can be represented with the clenched fist.

Symbol of Solidarity

As per The Conversation, the raised clenched fist has been used by a wide variety of groups in the 20th century, including fascists, socialists, communists, and Black Power advocates. In the early 20th century, it was associated with socialism, communism, and labour unions like the Industrial Workers of the World, typically viewed as a symbol of solidarity with others who shared their views.

By the 1960s, the gesture was synonymous with the Black Power movement, including leaders like Huey Newton of the Black Panthers, as reported by First Post. One memorable instance was during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, when two black athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, raised their black-glove-covered fists during the US national anthem to protest the treatment of African Americans back home.

The raised fist returned decades later, notably after the 2014 Ferguson riots and the Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. In 2016, over a dozen West Point cadets were criticized online after a graduation photo showing them raising their fists went viral.

In 2017, some cast members of Stranger Things raised their fists on stage during an impassioned speech by David Harbour after winning an award. Buzzfeed noted that the raised fist is a symbol that has been repurposed throughout history by various movements, embedded within visual cultures, discarded, and then recycled again later, as reported by AP.

Trump's Use of the Raised Fist

Trump has used the raised fist gesture for decades, from the opening of his Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City in 1990 to a famous 1994 press conference where he threatened to sue the New York Post, and during his 2017 inauguration.

Trump has used the gesture in several significant moments, such as arriving at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee just days after the campaign event, and while leaving a New York courthouse in May after being found guilty of 34 felonies.

Interpreting the Gesture

Public appearances by Trump typically draw mixed crowds of supporters and detractors. His use of a raised fist provides a potent message for both groups, functioning as a gesture of solidarity for supporters and one of defiance against opponents, as per media reports. This dual interpretation makes Trump's raised fist similar to a Rorschach inkblot, allowing people to interpret his message according to their ideological preferences.

Trump told the Washington Examiner he made the gesture to show he was okay and to send the message that "America goes on, we go forward, that we are strong." He described the energy from the crowd at that moment, saying, "It's hard to describe what that felt like, but I knew the world was looking. I knew that history would judge this, and I knew I had to let them know we are OK."

Expert Opinions

While talking about the gesture of Trump, experts have weighed in on its significance. Erik Bucy, a professor of strategic communication whose research focuses on political imagery, told Vox that Trump's raised fist conveyed defiance. "Defiance is 'you can't get me. I'm coming. Whatever you throw at me, I'm gonna stand tall.' And that's what he's doing here," Bucy added.

Media analyst Marion Müller explained to DW that the image is an extremely potent one, representing a promise of salvation. Müller noted that many Trump fans, in a deeply religious country like the US, interpret Trump's message as God's will and as a visual symbol of a mission to lead the country, as reported by First Post. The image fits perfectly into the iconic and pathos-laden tradition of American presidential communication.

Bucy also told Vox that Trump has an iconic image, one for the ages that is instantly recognizable. Such images only come around once in a while, and Trump's raised fist has cemented itself as one of those rare, iconic moments in American history.