Former President Donald Trump’s Scowling Mugshot Captures a Defining Chapter in History

Former United States President Donald Trump has found himself making history once again, this time as the first former President to have his mugshot taken. The image, which was made public by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, shows a serious-looking Trump only seconds after turning himself in at Atlanta jail for the charges related to his fourth indictment of the year.

Trump turned himself into Georgia police, where he was fingerprinted and photographed. He was released on a bail of $200,000, per Insider. In their arrest photos, some of the 18 people indicted alongside him in Georgia posed with a smile. But that did not seem to be the case with Trump.

Trump has been charged with four indictments this year which vary from his attempts to get the results of the state's 2020 presidential election overturned to his violations of the Espionage Act for handling confidential data. 13 felonies are charged in this most recent indictment, per The Hollywood Gossip.

The mugshot shows a scowling Trump in a blue suit, a white shirt, and a red tie—a dramatic contrast to the smiling and authoritative pictures frequently associated with Trump. The picture has captured the attention of both supporters and critics alike, quickly becoming a symbol of a turning point in American politics.

Trump is the current front-runner for the Republican nomination for president in 2024. Despite the legal issues, Trump's team has seized the opportunity and is using the mugshot to raise money. The image has been shared on various social media platforms, including Trump’s recently launched Truth Social. It has become the first post on his X account in more than 2½ years after being reinstated by Elon Musk. Trump's account was banned as a result of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.

The subject line of his campaign's most recent fundraising email, which promotes a new T-shirt with the image, reads, "BREAKING NEWS: THE MUGSHOT IS HERE," along with the declaration: “This mugshot will forever go down in history as a symbol of America’s defiance of tyranny”.

The significance of the mugshot, though, goes beyond politics. According to Marty Kaplan, a professor at the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communications, the image is likely to live on in American history, serving as a distinctive symbol of the nation's historical turning moment. “It will be forever part of the iconography of being alive in this time,” said Kaplan, per SCMP.

The mugshot has a particular symbolism to it; it shows a former leader removed from his position of authority and luxury and going through the same legal process as millions of others before him. While Trump's camp and supporters have welcomed the opportunity, some of his followers criticized the release of the mugshot as unneeded and possibly damaging, per Reuters.