Last night, for the first time in American history, we saw a mugshot of a former president. Donald Trump was officially arrested at Fulton County jail in Georgia. Unlike with the other 900 indictments, this time they decided to take and publish his mugshot. There was, of course, no legitimate reason to take a mugshot of a former president. The whole purpose of a mugshot is to provide law enforcement with photographic documentation of the suspect. But Donald Trump is the most recognizable and famous person in the world — possibly in the history of the world. When he shows up for trial they aren’t going to have to refer back to his mugshot to make sure it’s really him. There isn’t going to be anyone saying, “Wait, is that Donald Trump? It’s hard to tell. Pull up his mug shot.”
So why did they take this step? What was the point? The point of course was pure humiliation and vengeance. It was also to give the DA, Fani Willis, a political trophy to put on her wall. It’s something that she wants to use when she inevitably runs for the Senate, or governor, in a few years. Of course, it all backfired, as it was always destined to. The mugshot instantly became an iconic image, and had exactly the effect that any half-conscious political observer knew it would have — rallying the base around Trump. Trump is now fundraising off of the image — and smartly so — and will likely raise many millions just from the mugshot alone. In fact, we can say that if Donald Trump does manage to get elected to the presidency again, Fani Willis will be largely responsible for it. She is the most effective campaign manager Trump has ever had, even if unintentionally.
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