As speculation swirled over whether a mug shot of the former president would be taken and publicly released when he was arraigned in New York on April 4, right-wing media boosted Donald Trump's efforts to reportedly “turn his potential mugshot into fuel for a fundraising drive, or as a potent new symbol on 2024 campaign merchandise.”
While Trump was not handcuffed or required to take an actual mug shot, his campaign sent out a fundraising email selling a T-shirt with a fake mug shot shortly after he arrived at the New York courthouse for his arraignment. The Trump campaign has also used the fake mug shot in social media advertising and other right-wing figures have promoted it, or used similar images on merchandise.
Calling for Trump’s mug shot to be promoted and sold on merchandise
Before the arraignment, several right-wing media figures said a potential mug shot should be promoted and sold on merchandise:
- Sean Hannity bragged that after selling mug shot merch, “We'll all be able to retire, you know, much earlier.”
- On Fox News’ The Five, Greg Gutfeld said, “I think if there is a mug shot, which there will be, you've got to own it. That's got to be the poster.”
- On his America First livestream, white nationalist Nick Fuentes speculated, “The first person to sell the Trump mug shot T-shirt is going to become a trillionaire tomorrow.” He added that “The second that the Trump mug shot goes up, we gotta get our designers — go, go, go! Print the T-shirt. It doesn’t need to be good. It just needs to be the first. And we’re gonna put out Facebook ads, and that’s how we’re going to make $10 million next week.”
- Pro-Trump troll Laura Loomer claimed on Twitter that the potential mug shot would “be the most popular & most printed image in the entire world” before saying Trump’s campaign “should sell mugshot mugs, mugshot t-shirts & mugshot posters on his 2024 campaign website. He will raise millions from his supporters, & the haters.”
- National File reporter Patrick Howley tweeted that “Trump needs to make sure he takes a good smiling mugshot for campaign posters.”
- Project Veritas’ Eric Spracklen begged for mug shot-themed merchandise, tweeting, “I want to order the entire Trump mugshot collection tomorrow. I’m talking campaign official T-shirt, hat, coffee mug, keychain, coaster set, stickers, mouse pad, all of it. Please don’t let me down @TeamTrump.”
Claiming a Trump mug shot will be “iconic” and comparing it to famous images
Some went even further, hyping the potential mug shot as a pop culture icon or as a symbol of political martyrdom. They compared imagery of Trump’s arrest to the “Mona Lisa” and mug shots of famous musicians. While Fox News host Jesse Watters accused Democrats of “drooling over a Trump mugshot,” many others on the right clambered for the mug shot themselves:
- Alongside a montage of mug shots of Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, and Mick Jagger, Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth claimed that Trump’s mug shot would “be in dorm rooms and on T-shirts, making him a hero or an anti-[hero].”
- On Fox & Friends, Hegseth also declared, “That mug shot will become iconic. Like Frank Sinatra mug shot iconic, like printed on t-shirts, put it on dorm room posters.”
- Laura Loomer posted to Truth Social that “Trump’s mugshot will become the ‘Mona Lisa’ of our weaponized Government.” She went on to say that “like the Mona Lisa, it will be protected and studied for generations to come. It will be iconic.”
- Right-wing conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec claimed on Truth Social that “Trump's mugshot will become the most-viewed photo in American history.”
- Spracklen tweeted that “Trump’s mugshot will immediately become the most famous picture in American history."
- Trump ally Roger Stone tweeted a picture of Sinatra’s mug shot, adding, “Sinatra made a fortune on this one- think what @realDonaldTrump will rake in for his 2024 Campaign.”
- In an interview with Trump attorney Alina Habba, Turning Point USA’s Benny Johnson claimed that the mug shot would turn Trump into “Tupac,” and Trump attorney Alina Habba responded, "Donald Trump IS Tupac. Donald Trump is Biggie Smalls.”
- On Fox & Friends, co-host Will Cain claimed, "Obviously, there is no corollary, but in popular culture, the Che Guevara T-shirt is a thing you see around, right? I mean, this is gonna be a thing.”
- Nick Fuentes fan and filmmaker Paul Escandon posted to Twitter and Instagram that “Trump is cooler than all the crime bosses in the Batman movies combined. Please give us the mugshot.”
Selling merchandise with a fake mug shot and pushing Trump’s “not guilty” shirt
Shortly after Trump arrived at the New York courthouse, his campaign sent out an email with the subject line “NEW ITEM: MUGSHOT.” The email promotes a “free” T-shirt with a contribution of at least $47 and claims that the image is “the only photo certified by President Donald J. Trump.” The Trump campaign also began promoting the fake mug shot on social media, including in fundraising advertisements on Meta’s platforms and his social media site Truth Social. Other right-wing media figures have since promoted the Trump campaign merchandise with the fake mug shot.
- Trump began running 21 new ads (seven each of three different formats) on Meta’s platforms after the arraignment, claiming, “The only offense I have committed is to defend America from those who seek to destroy it,” and noting that “they’re not after me. They’re after YOU. I’m only standing in the way.” One of the ads specifically promotes the “NOT GUILTY” T-shirt, while the other two use the fake mug shot image to drum up campaign support.
