Fact Check: Photo of Donald Trump Smiling With Kidnapping Poster

Former President Donald Trump has rarely shied from controversial photo opportunities, having just visited a Philadelphia McDonald’s in an effort to share the baseless claim that Kamala Harris did not work at the fast food chain while in college.
The Republican presidential nominee was seen working the frier and at the drive-thru window this weekend as he and Harris make their final efforts to win over voters in the battleground state.
Another photo opp, supposedly gone wrong, was shared on Sunday by Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who claimed the former president had been pictured grinning “gleefully” with a photo of a man believed to be held hostage by Hamas, which the screen legend called “WeirdAF.”
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by Mark Hamill, posted on October 20, 2024, viewed 188,000 times, said: “Who grins gleefully while holding a photo of a kidnap victim?
“This isn’t thumbs-up at a gravestone bad, but I can’t help but wonder what the hostage’s parents expressions were when they saw this image? The man is mentally deeply unwell. #WeirdAF.”
The Facts
Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the iconic sci-fi saga, has long been a critic of Trump, referring to him as “DementiaDonOld” and making fun when Trump appeared with what Hamill called a “ludicrously oversized ear bandage” after his assassination attempt in July.
The actor has been a vocal supporter of Vice President Kamala Harris throughout her campaign and supported President Joe Biden during his run, appearing at a White House press briefing in May. Following Trump and Biden’s presidential debate this year, Hamill wrote on X that the former president “is a convicted felon, serial liar & adjudicated rapist who is unfit for ANY office.”
Trump was indeed pictured holding a photo of a kidnapping victim, specifically Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier from New Jersey believed to be held hostage by Hamas.
The former president visited the gravesite of Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late leader of the Chabad Hasidic movement, on October 7, 2024, in Ohel located in Queens, New York, alongside the family members of Alexander, Holocaust survivor Jerry Wartski, and more.
Trump sparked controversy at that event. After picking up what appeared to be a rabbi’s prayer book, Trump turned to those around him and said, “Would you like me to sign this?” Those accompanying him appeared to say no.
The same day, the Associated Press photographed Trump with Edan Alexander’s family members, holding up a photo of Edan.
While some commentators found Trump’s smile distasteful, he and members of Alexander’s family also smiled in the same photo.
Unlike the AP photos, the picture Hamill shared did not include the entire frame of the shot and others in it, missing context that viewers of Hamill’s post might judge it by. Other photos taken by AP of Trump with the family showed more solemn expression.
The image was shared earlier this month with some commentators calling Trump’s behavior “sickening” and saying that he “doesn’t care about anything but himself.”
The Ruling
Needs Context.
Trump was pictured smiling while holding a poster of Edan Alexander earlier this month. However, the photo shared by Mark Hamill was cropped. The full version shows Trump with members of Alexander’s family, some of whom were also smiling.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team