Former President Donald Trump posted to X (formerly Twitter) for the first time since he was banned from the platform in January 2020.Trump tweeted an image of his mug shot, with captions "ELECTION INTERFERENCE" and "NEVER SURRENDER!"
Guardian report - Donald Trump’s hostility shines through in the mugshot taken at the Fulton county jail as he was booked on charges of trying to steal the 2020 presidential election.
The former president turns his eyes up to glare toward the camera above him.
Dressed in a blue suit, white shirt and red tie, he makes no attempt to put on a smile like some of his co-accused in their booking photos. Instead, his mouth is taut and downturned.
The picture does not flatter, but it does convey the message many of Trump’s supporters want to hear – one of belligerence.
The six-pointed star of the Fulton county sheriff’s office badge and the name of the sheriff, Patrick Labat, sits in the top left-hand corner of the picture. But some will be disappointed that Trump is not seen in the classic pose holding a board in front of his chest with his name and date of arrest.
For all that, the former president’s supporters are already embracing the booking photo as a badge of honour and defiance. It will be held up as evidence that their man will not give up the fight against a system his followers see as ever more determined to bring him down and prevent him returning to the White House. The mugshot’s rapid appearance on T-shirts, posters and, well, mugs glorifying a martyred Trump can be expected.
The president’s detractors, on the other hand, will see the booking photo as evidence that even a man who was once the most powerful person in the land cannot escape the might of the justice system.
Some will welcome anything that makes him look even a little bit more criminal as a confirmation that sooner or later he is going to prison. The accused may be innocent until a plea or a jury says otherwise, but mugshots can have a way of conveying guilt.
He doesn't look defiant at all. He looks really scared to me. He looks like it is finally dawning on him that this whole business is really serious and the hay he feeds to his horses may not save him from the consequences of his actions.
ReplyDeleteBut he gave $300 to Bikur Cholim, how dare you?