The presidency of President Donald Trump has been nothing if not eventful. But even for an administration that makes news at a steady clip, Tuesday was extraordinary.
In an remarkable series of events, Trump’s longtime lawyer Michael Cohen admitted in court that—at the direction of then-candidate Trump—he arranged payments to two women in exchange for silence on their alleged affairs with Trump, in violation of campaign finance law. Meanwhile, Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted of eight counts of tax fraud and bank fraud, a victory for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the administration’s wrongdoing. Since both men, at one point or another, had close ties to the president, their crimes cast a dark shadow on Trump. In fact, Cohen’s implicated the president directly.
The two events happened within minutes of each other, leaving newscasters breathless, setting Twitter afire, and prompting the president to decry the “witch hunts.”
But as is their daily duty, newspaper front pages captured the day’s news in a single broadsheet frame.
The Cohen and Manafort developments came too late in the day for many international front pages, but U.S. Newspapers, of course, were all over it.
The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper called Tuesday Trump’s “worst hour.”
The Guardian front page, Wednesday 22 August 2018: Trump’s ‘worst hour’ as former aides guilty of finance crimes pic.twitter.com/QaL6a5PUa6
— The Guardian (@guardian) August 22, 2018
Trump was shaken by the judicial setbacks of two friends, says the cover of France’s Le Monde:
#ALaUne Trump ébranlé par les revers judiciaires de deux proches | Pourquoi Mélenchon change de stratégie | L'heure de vérité pour Parcoursup
Et pour vous abonner ➡️ https://t.co/cN0KPhRB7Spic.twitter.com/SJTOaldilT
— Le Monde (@lemondefr) August 22, 2018
Canada’s National Post dedicated most of its front page to the revelations:
The Post's #frontpage for Wednesday, August 22, 2018. Pic.twitter.com/8jDbN5VwKl
— National Post (@nationalpost) August 22, 2018
The New York Daily News, true to form, punned “All the president’s henchmen”:
Michael Cohen pleads guilty, linking Trump to payoffs… https://t.co/sknpH1zDYn
…As Paul Manafort convicted of fraud https://t.co/482P8HYrzY
An early look at Wednesday's front page: pic.twitter.com/hVrKz8U71N
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 21, 2018
The New York Times broke out the all-caps letterset:
Here's the front page of The New York Times 8/22/2018. Read our coverage from a long, busy day of news here: https://t.co/StRCWRYlLjpic.twitter.com/8B5pZZK8Mb
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 22, 2018
The convictions tighten the squeeze on Trump, the Washington Post reported in a full-page Trump special:
And here is the front page of tomorrow's @washingtonpost: pic.twitter.com/sDmg1WVFlI
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 22, 2018
The Wall Street Journal took the straight approach, as always:
Take an early look at the front page of The Wall Street Journal https://t.co/5xQPDPcm8qpic.twitter.com/l325VslgCy
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 22, 2018
The Miami Herald called it a one-two punch for the Trump administration:
Good morning from the newsroom. Here is Wednesday's front page. Keep up with the news at https://t.co/uj677PKxPjpic.twitter.com/i0Rx7JQjJ2
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) August 22, 2018
USA Today kept it rather bland:
A look at Wednesday's paper: Legal spotlight on #Trump as former aides face jail time; #California consumers study fire-resistant houses; Nerves on edge as kids head back to school; Fall movie preview; Former player alleges #TexasA&M violated NCAA rules pic.twitter.com/0WAwnG8XgT
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 22, 2018