Fox affiliate fires employee for doctoring video of Trump Oval Office address

Fox affiliate Q13 in Seattle fired a staffer who the station says doctored a video of President Trump delivering an address from the Oval Office on Tuesday night.

The video shown on the station’s newscast made it appear as if Trump was sticking his tongue out while delivering a speech on the government shutdown. The video was also manipulated to make the president’s skin and hair appear more orange. 

“This does not meet our editorial standards and we regret if it is seen as portraying the president in a negative light,” said Q13 news director Erica Hill in an emailed statement to the Seattle Times on Thursday morning.

Later Thursday, Hill released another statement announcing the termination of the employee responsible. 

{mossecondads}“We’ve completed our investigation into this incident and determined that the actions were the result of an individual editor whose employment has been terminated,” she said. 

Trump delivered a national prime-time address Tuesday night, making his case for $5 billion in funding to build a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats have said they will not approve any funding for the wall.

The deadlock has led to a partial government shutdown which entered its 20th day on Thursday.

An estimated 43.3 million people watched the president’s address and the Democratic response from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), according to Nielsen Media Research. 

More than 45 million people watched the president’s State of the Union address in January 2018. 

The last Oval Office address was delivered by then-President Obama in 2014 on the fight against ISIS. That broadcast attracted 34 million viewers.