Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, has suddenly reappeared on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
In this first post after being banned by Twitter, when Twitter silenced him because the company believed he was inciting his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election results and prevent Joe Biden from being confirmed as the winner of the presidential election, Trump shared a photo of him being processed at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, had actually reinstated Donald Trump's account some time ago. However, Trump chose to continue using his own platform, Truth Social, instead of returning to the popular social media site.
https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/Mcbf2xozsY
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2023
Through the website, Donald Trump delivered "a personal note" to explain that:
The American people know what’s going on.
What has taken place is a travesty of justice and ELECTION INTERFERENCE.
The Left wants to intimidate YOU out of voting for a political outsider who puts the American people FIRST.
But I walked into the lion’s den with one simple message on behalf of our entire movement: I WILL NEVER SURRENDER OUR MISSION TO SAVE AMERICA.
If you are doing poorly due to the sinister people in control of our country right now, don’t even think about donating!
But if you can, please make a contribution to evict Crooked Joe Biden from the White House and SAVE AMERICA during this dark chapter in our nation’s history.
The website said that contributions "will benefit Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee."
This is a joint fundraising committee on behalf of "Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc. and Save America."
According to the explanation, 90% of the joint fundraising proceeds shall be allocated to Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc. (2024 primary election), 10% to Save America, and any contribution exceeding the legal amount that may be contributed to either of the Committees will be allocated to Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc. (2024 general election)
All the defendants indicted in Georgia's investigation into the former President and his allies' alleged interference in the state's 2020 presidential election have turned themselves in to the Fulton County Jail.
At the time, roads between the Atlanta airport and the Fulton County Jail were blocked off as Trump arrived in a motorcade to turn himself in.
The mug shot, and the post, were made after Trump was processed at the Georgia State Penitentiary as a defendant in a series of criminal cases, all of which were related to his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to disrupt the 2020 election results.
Trump was going to do something no other U.S. president has ever done before: surrender for booking on criminal charges and have a mug shot taken.
In the photo released by the prison authorities, Trump was given the inmate number P01135809.
However, he was in prison for only 20 minutes, and was quickly released on a $200,000 bond, before flying back to his golf club in New Jersey.
At the airport, before boarding his private jet, Trump insisted that he was innocent, "did nothing wrong" and called the case accusing him of subverting election results a "travesty of justice." He accused the criminal cases against him of being politically motivated.
"If you challenge an election, you should be able to challenge an election," he told reporters on the airport tarmac.
It didn't take long until the internet responded.
The mug shot of Trump with a red tie, glistening hair, and an icy scowl, which was also posted by a Georgia courthouse, has been turned into memes. Others placed the photo on T-shirts, glasses, mugs, posters and even bobblehead dolls.
Trump's pose, glaring into the camera with his face tilted down, echoes his trademark pose in The Apprentice, the reality television show he starred in for several years.
Both friends and foes alike, supporters and campaigner managers, have embraced the image of his arrest, as they rally around Trump's claims that the charges against him are politically motivated.
To many of them, the photo is a symbol that his long list of legal woes has finally caught up to him.
Trump even ReTruthed one of the posts.
It has been months that Trump sought to leverage the criminal probes against him to rally support from his base, starting with his first indictment in New York.
His fundraising groups, including his past and current presidential campaigns, have invested more than a hundred million dollars in merchandise operations since 2015, buying items like bumper stickers, hoodies and coffee mugs to sell.
Speaking to Reuters after the Republican debate on Wednesday, co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita said his team had been focused on turning the four indictments into a positive, "making sure that we were making lemonade at every opportunity, which I think we did."
At this time, the moment marked the fourth time this 2023 that Trump surrendered to law enforcement authorities.
His angled eyebrows and a hard stare photo also marked the culmination of what he tried to avoid.
Typical mug shots are usually taken after the subject’s unexpected arrest, bestowing power on the people on the other end of the camera.
But Trump being Trump, the used the booking photo, which is supposed to be an exercise in humility, and turned it into a threat.
He even turned it into one more opportunity for brand building, in order to appeal fans.
Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice requested protective order after Donald Trump made a threat on his social media.
