Last Updated: August 25, 2023, 08:05 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. Trump is headed to the Fulton County Jail. (AP Photo)
Donald Trump posts mugshot on X after arrest in Georgia, signaling his return to the platform after months of absence
Former US President Donald Trump posted his police mugshot on X, the former Twitter, on Thursday after his arrest in Georgia, his first post on the platform since January 2021.
He was banned from Twitter on January 8, 2021, two days after the attack on the U.S. Capitol for incitement of violence. His account was reinstated last November after Elon Musk acquired Twitter and ran a poll on whether to reinstate the account.
Earlier on Thursday evening, Trump’s mug shot was released shortly after the former US president was booked at an Atlanta jail on more than a dozen felony charges as part of a criminal in 2020 Georgia election case.
The former US President’s team had discussed the former president’s mug shot prior to him taking it at the Fulton County jail, two sources familiar with the discussions told CNN. He wanted to appear “defiant” in the shot, and purposefully chose not to smile, the report said An unsmiling Trump – inmate no. P01135809 was captured glaring at the camera in the mug shot.
The image represented yet another extraordinary moment for Trump, who did not have to submit to a photograph when making appearances in his three other criminal cases.
Trump, 77, already has entered uncharted territory as the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, even as he mounts another campaign for the White House next year. According to multiple polls, the four cases filed against him have only bolstered his standing among Republican voters.
He holds a commanding polling lead in the race for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 2024 election.
