Trump news today: Donald Trump raises $7.1m for campaign after capitalising on ‘historic’ mug shot merch – live
Donald Trump arrested for fourth time
Donald Trump raised nearly $20m in the past three weeks, adding $7.1m since his scowling mug shot was released on Thursday, his presidential campaign spokesperson said.
The mug shot of the former president has been taken in a racketeering and fraud case in Atlanta, Georgia, and the last three weeks of his campaign roughly coincides with his indictment in federal and state cases.
His mug shot, posted by a Georgia courthouse on Thursday evening, has been turned into T-shirts, shot glasses, mugs, posters and even bobblehead dolls by friends and foes alike.
Mr Trump also shared a link to his campaign website in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in what marked his first return to the social platform since he was banned in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot.
Mr Trump was booked and released from the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta after surrendering to authorities on 13 charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
His booking photo represents the first and only time a current or former president has been forced to undergo a mug shot.
Trump’s mugshot has given MAGA its own scowling, vindictive iconic image
In the annals of American history, few mugshots are so iconic that they end up in history books. When they do, though, they become cultural touchstones, evocative of the times and tumult in which they were taken.
Certainly, the mugshot of the 45th President of the United States, indicted for his alleged role in conspiring to subvert the 2020 election in Georgia, is one of those images. Future historians will look at it as one of the defining photos of our era, one marked by deep divisions and the irreconcilable realities the two Americas – that of the Trumpian movement, and that of the rest of us – find ourselves in.
Skylar Baker-Jordan writes:
Graeme Massie27 August 2023 07:58
Trump raised $7.1m since he was booked Thursday at an Atlanta jail
Donald Trump has raised nearly $20m in the past three weeks, his presidential campaign spokesperson said on Saturday.
The last three weeks roughly coincides with his indictment in federal and state cases connected to his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
But, since appearing on Thursday to have his mug shot taken in a racketeering and fraud case in Atlanta, Georgia, the former president brought in $7.1m, his spokesperson Steven Cheung said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
On Friday alone, he brought in $4.18m, making it the highest-grossing day of his campaign so far, Cheung said.
His mug shot, posted by a Georgia courthouse on Thursday evening, has been turned into T-shirts, shot glasses, mugs, posters and even bobblehead dolls by friends and foes alike.
The shot of Trump with a red tie, glistening hair, and an icy scowl was taken as the Republican presidential front-runner was arrested on more than a dozen felony charges, part of a criminal case stemming from his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Arpan Rai27 August 2023 07:40
Biden chuckles over Trump’s mugshot: ‘Handsome guy. Wonderful guy’
President Joe Biden chuckled when asked about his predecessor Donald Trump’s mug shot taken at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mr Biden was asked by Bloomberg about the photo when coming out of a pilates and spin class in Lake Tahoe, California. The president said he saw the image on TV.
“Handsome guy. Wonderful guy,” Mr Biden said.
Mr Biden was booed by bystanders as he approached the press. He said he watched at least an hour and twenty minutes of the first Republican debate, which didn’t feature Mr Trump.
The president said he didn’t “learn much” from the Milwaukee showdown.
Graeme Massie27 August 2023 06:04
Trump’s weight and height in Georgia arrest records raises eyebrows
Consternation, confusion, incredulity, and amusement abound on the release of Donald Trump’s Fulton County Jail booking record.
Graeme Massie27 August 2023 04:10
Question looms on Trump’s legal rights over mug shot usage in campaign
What legal rights, if any, Donald Trump’s campaign may have over the mug shot’s reproduction are unclear, however. The photo was distributed by the Fulton County court to media outlets, including Reuters.
Mug shots taken by US federal courts are generally in the public domain, although Georgia’s state policy may be different.
Many US states have “right of publicity” laws that prevent the use of a person’s image in commerce without their permission. Federal trademark law also bars false advertising and endorsements, and Trump would also likely be able to sue under other state laws.
But political parody goods may receive some protection from intellectual-property claims under the US Constitution, and attorneys say that whether Trump would actually sue is more of a strategic question than a legal one.
“In all likelihood, given how polarising Trump has been, and everything that is already in the marketplace around his likeness, it would not likely be a legal priority,” trademark attorney Josh Gerben said.
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.
The former president told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday night that he only did the mug shot because Georgia officials insisted. “It is not a comfortable feeling, especially when you’ve done nothing wrong,” he said.
Graeme Massie27 August 2023 02:07
Trump invents new arrest charge: ‘Telling people to watch Newsmax’
No matter what you think of the upstart rightwing network, it’s not a crime to watch it or encourage others to do so.
Graeme Massie27 August 2023 01:05
All of the mug shots from the Georgia arrests: From smiling Jenna Ellis to scowling Donald Trump
He and his cronies have long been pictured at the White House and political rallies.
On the morning of Friday 25 August, the last of the 19 defendants charged as part of a criminal enterprise working to overturn the 2020 election in the state of Georgia surrendered to authorities in Fulton County.
Graeme Massie26 August 2023 23:04
Fox News’ Jesse Watters ridiculed for raving that Trump ‘looks good and looks hard’ in Georgia mug shot
Conservative host felt compelled to say he was complimenting Mr Trump ‘with an unblemished record of heterosexuality’.
Graeme Massie26 August 2023 22:08
Hours after he surrendered in Georgia, Trump began selling ‘Never Surrender’ t-shirts with his mug shot
Predictably, almost as soon as the scowling mug shot was released, the former president’s re-election campaign began using it to try to fundraise for his 2024 presidential run.
Less than 90 minutes in from his release from the Atlanta jail, the campaign sent an email to supporters saying it would give away a “free” premium cotton t-shirt featuring the historic booking photo – in exchange for a $47 donation.
Graeme Massie26 August 2023 21:04
Eric Trump denies report Mar-a-Lago sold in days before father’s Georgia arrest
A listing on the real estate site Zillow had claimed that the Palm Beach, Florida, club had been sold on 4 August to a company called Mar-a-Lago Inc.
Reports suggested that the company was controlled by Donald Trump Jr.
However, that was angrily denied by Eric Trump in a social media post on Friday.
Graeme Massie26 August 2023 20:02