Results: Real Emotion VS Photo Op

By now, most of us have seen the photo released by First lady Melania Trump of the trip she made with President Donald Trump to visit shooting victims at University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. One photo where she's holding a baby who was orphaned as a result of the deadly shooting there last week, has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. In the photo, Melania Trump is holding an infant, who a senior White House official confirms is the son of Jordan Anchondo, 24, and Andre Anchondo, 23, a young couple who were killed in last Saturday's shooting at a Walmart. The President is making a thumbs-up sign next to the first lady and is joined by some of the baby's surviving relatives. What are your thoughts on this photo?

What bothers me about this photo is that it was an obvious staged photo op -- the baby was even brought back to the hospital by his uncle (shown in the photo) who is a Trump supporter, and dressed up for the photo. The Trumps both have big smiles on their faces, the thumbs up reeks to me of an inappropriate message (what does it mean -- thumbs up because the baby lived, thumbs up because the Trumps think this is a positive message, thumbs up for the work the first responders did?) and this photo does not show any real emotion or empathy. Contrast this with these photos of President Obama showing real raw emotion time and after time during crisis situations. Who do you feel conveys empathy better?

Back during his presidency, Obama was quoted as saying the "empathy deficit" is a more pressing political problem for America than the federal deficit and many feel this is true today more than ever. Lack of empathy robs one of emotion, and our emotional response in times of stress and crisis is what can unite us. Our lack of empathy can only divide us and further fan the flames of hate. Do you agree or disagree?

As President, it is natural that every move you make is documented and shared over social media and news media, so both spontaneous real photos are shared, as well as photo opportunities that are staged for the camera. I am sure that in their official visit to the sites of this tragedy, or the other one that weekend, there must have been some real moments of raw emotion that the First Lady could have shared instead of this one. Do you think the image they are trying to convey is misguided?