Pete Souza, the chief White House photographer for former President Barack Obama, appears to have deleted his X (formerly Twitter) account after sharing a controversial post suggesting that former President Donald Trump might not have been shot during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Souza’s post seemed to support a conspiracy theory about the shooting, which the FBI had confirmed. The FBI reported that on July 13, Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks during an event in Butler. The shooting also injured two of Trump’s supporters and resulted in the death of another, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore.
Despite the FBI’s confirmation, Souza questioned the official account by sharing an Associated Press photo of Trump boarding a plane, showing no visible injuries. Souza’s comment suggested skepticism about the bullet’s impact, asking viewers to look closely at Trump’s ear.
The post was seen by Mediaite before Souza’s account was removed, and now visiting Souza’s profile results in a message saying, “This Post is from an account that no longer exists.”
Souza is known for his book Obama: An Intimate Portrait, which features over 300 iconic photos he took of President Obama throughout his two terms in office. The book includes images of significant moments, such as the Situation Room during the bin Laden mission, as well as personal and candid moments with the Obama family and other figures.
During Barack Obama’s two terms, Pete Souza was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else — and he photographed them all. Souza captured nearly two million photographs of President Obama, in moments highly classified and disarmingly candid. Obama: An Intimate Portrait reproduces more than 300 of Souza’s most iconic photographs with fine-art print quality in an oversize collectible format.
Together they document the most consequential hours of the Presidency — including the historic image of President Obama and his advisors in the Situation Room during the bin Laden mission — alongside unguarded moments with the President’s family, his encounters with children, interactions with world leaders and cultural figures, and more.
