The Trump merchandising machine is in overdrive. Even before Donald Trump took a mugshot at the Fulton County Jail the plans were set in motion to capitalize to the max on it.
Lara Trump has predicted the mugshot of her father-in-law will be on posters, dorm rooms and flags owned by “people who love this country.” The former president finds himself charged– along with 18 others– on 41 counts of election interference, conspiracy, false documents and racketeering (RICO) for his alleged roles in trying to overturn the 2020 election, and on August 24 he was arrested and processed at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia.
Lara said it is ridiculous to think someone as famous as Trump would need a mugshot. She believes it is designed to embarrass the former president but that it will backfire and the image will be used as a show of support.
But she either does not know, or is willingly ignoring the fact that, while in other cities where he was previously indicted a booking photo was not required as part of the process, in Fulton County it is standard procedure, and officials had already indicated that they would treat him like any other defendant.
Lara appeared on Newsmax on Wednesday to discuss her father-in-law’s arraignment in Atlanta on Thursday.
Host Rob Schmitt said: “I’m really curious what’s he going to do with this mugshot. I think he should just smile ear to ear as just the biggest middle finger right back at all of this.”
She replied: “It’s absurd to think that Donald Trump, who is one of the most famous people in the world, if not the most famous in the world, would ever need one. But we know the goal with this ad is to try and embarrass him in some way.”
As it turned out, Donald Trump did not smile in the mugshot. On the contrary, although according to New York Times writer Maggie Haberman the look was intended to be menacing, instead he looked angry and defeated at the same time. A man suffering through the consequences of his actions.
Lara predicts that Trump’s mugshot will rally supporters and motivate people to vote for him in the upcoming presidential election.
“It’s going to be on posters and people’s dorm rooms. It’s going to be on T-shirts. It is going to be a flag flown by people who love this country because they’re backing Donald Trump.”
She is probably right, as there is every indication that his MAGA World cult followers continue to believe in his innocence.
“They understand how important this is. They understand how absurd all of this is. And it’s exactly why they’re going to rally behind him and they’re going to vote for him in 2024,” she adds.
The first of the merch products to hit the market is the T-shirt with the slogan that casts the indictment as an act of tyranny on the part of the legitimate US government, that same government of which he was president.
Despite the race to monetize his arrest and mugshot, to spin it to his advantage and make more money, it appears that Printerval is already marketing a line of merchandise featuring his mugshot, but it’s for those who believe him to be guilty.
The list of Trump’s indictments has grown to be impressively long, not only for alleged crimes committed by a former president–as he is unique in this regard, but for anyone at all.
He has been indicted four times as of August 2023, on different charges related to his actions before and after the 2020 election.
In March 2023, he was indicted by the Manhattan district attorney on 34 counts of falsifying business records, related to a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels in 2016.
In June 2023, he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami on 37 counts of mishandling classified documents and obstructing justice, related to his removal of secret materials from the White House and his attempts to destroy evidence at Mar-a-Lago.
In August 2023, he was indicted by a special counsel in Washington on four counts of conspiracy, obstruction of Congress, election fraud and false statements, related to his efforts to pressure state officials and lawmakers to overturn the election results in his favor.
District attorney Fani Willis is looking at holding the arraignments for all the defendants during the week after Labor Day, according to The Hill.
It would be the first time that one of Trump’s criminal proceedings is televised to the world. No doubt he will find a way to exploit and monetize that too, as he has done on previous occasions when he has found himself in legal jeopardy.
Trump called Willis “an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney”, and as he has done after every investigation and indictment, has declared the charges were part of a “witch hunt”.
If Lara is right, Trump’s mugshot may propel him to the White House for a second term. One thing is undeniable, Trump is a gifted snake oil salesman. Maybe the best ever.
