Political dirty tricks, 1904 edition

From the New York Tribune (stumbled upon while researching something else entirely):

IMPERSONATED THE PRESIDENT - ATTEMPT TO REPRESENT HIM AS GIVING AID TO A NEGRO IN DISTRESS
Washington, May 18--The Washington police have investigated an incident which occurred on the plaza of the Capitol to-day, in which an attempt was made before a moving picture machine to impersonate President Roosevelt giving assistance to a pretended negro in distress. The incident occurred shortly before 8 o'cock this morning. A moving picture machine had been placed where it could command the scene, and a man made up as a negro approached, and when directly in front o the statue of George Washingto he fell to the pavement. A man who bore a striking resemblance to the President was in a carriage near by, and he, with the aid of a negro coachman who wore the counterpart of the White house livery, ternderly lifted the pretended negro to the carriage. The man simulating the President then tipped his hat, offered the negro a cigar and ordered the carriage driven on. The incident was witnessed by a number of people, incuding two Capitol policemen. An officer who witnessed the occurrence said he was standing at the east entrance of the Senate wing of the Capitol when he saw a man with a large photographic outfit set up his machine eside the Washington statue. 'Tow carriages were near' he said. 'A man got out of an open carriage and fell down on the asphalt and directly in front of the camera. He was a big, fat negro, and wore minstrel shoes and a regular minstrel outfit. Another carriage drove up, and from it alighted a man dressed like President Roosevelt. The latter helped the prostrate negro into his carriage, offered him a cigar and tipped his hat to the negro. Then the carriage was driven off. The investigation showed that the men were actors. They are believed to have left the city."

The article doesn't speculate, but it seems like this was an attempt to make a film damaging to Teddy Roosevelt (1904 was an election year). Though manifestly a racist, TR still got into trouble among many whites for inviting Booker T. Washington to the white house. So, I'm guessing this stunt was an attempt to play into that sentiment, along the lines of George W. Bush's team making anonymous phone calls to South Carolina voters in 2000 suggesting that John McCain had a black daughter.

Or, maybe this was the 1904 version of street theater?

Either way, it's telling that the "pretend negro" was outfitted in minstrel attire