At last, Donald Trump can stop selling t-shirts emblazoned with the fake mug shots his campaign designed following his April 3 arrest in New York City. (Alvin Bragg and, later, Jack Smith passed on requiring a mug shot after Trump's first three indictments.)
Last week Donald Trump, railing against Fox News Channel, groused that the cable giant was using unflattering pictures of him in its coverage: "they purposely show the absolutely worst pictures of me, especially the big ‘orange’ one with my chin pulled way back."
Well, maybe he had a point: the chin-pulled-way-back look is pretty unflattering.
But finally, the no-nonsense Fani Willis has given the undisputed leader of the Republican Party what he has been craving.
Trump celebrated his fourth indictment by featuring his Fulton County mug shot on his campaign website (immediately below), by posting it on X (marking a return to the renamed Twitter), and plastering it on merch ("including T-shirts, mugs, koozies and bumper stickers”) that he's selling to folks who are eager to profess their allegiance.
Trump's criminal mug shot -- a bit of theater, a way to dominate a media cycle, a sure money-maker for the ex-POTUS and his lawyers, and a fitting tribute to his contempt for the rule of law -- is destined to become among the most iconic photographs documenting the man's place in history.
August 26, 2023 update: Trump reportedly raised $7.1 million in the two days since he was booked at the Fulton County Jail and $4.18 million on Friday alone, a 24-hour record for the campaign. Meanwhile, a senior advisor to Trump's 2024 election bid has threatened others trying to cash in on the mugshot: