Donald Trump’s mugshot has become a viral meme

25 August, 2023

Donald Trump in January 2023

Donald Trump‘s mugshot has become a viral meme following his historic arrest.

On Thursday (August 24), the former US president surrendered in Georgia on charges of plotting to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.

Trump had to pay a bail bond of $200,000 (£160,000) to be released from the Atlanta jail, and now awaits trial. He later described the case as “a travesty of justice”.

This is the fourth time in five months that Trump has been arrested in a criminal case, but it’s the first time a police booking photo has been taken of the former president.

Trump later posted on X (formerly Twitter) for the first time since January 2021. Sharing his website address and the mugshot, he wrote: “ELECTION INTERFERENCE. NEVER SURRENDER!”

Since Trump shared his own mugshot, X users have turned the image into a viral meme, with many mocking the former president.

You can find some examples below.

Trump claims that the cases against him are politically motivated because he is leading the Republican race to challenge President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in next year’s presidential election.

Following his arrest and eventual release on Thursday, he told reporters that he was entitled to challenge the result of a vote (via BBC News).

“I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election,” said Trump, who has made numerous unfounded claims of widespread ballot fraud in 2020. “And I should have every right to do that.

“As you know, you have many people that you’ve been watching over the years do the same thing, whether it’s Hillary Clinton or [former candidate for Georgia governor] Stacey Abrams, or many others.”

Trump has 13 charges against him, which include racketeering, soliciting a public official to violate his oath of office, conspiracy to impersonate a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery, and making false statements. He denies all of the counts against him.

Back in May 2022, X owner Elon Musk said that Trump would be allowed to return to the social media platform. The site previously banned the former president, citing repeated violations of its rules and that his tweets were “highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021”, referring to the attack on the Capitol building by his supporters.

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