“Today is a good day to give to my campaign,” it simply said, soliciting donations from $US25 to more than $US500.
Biden, holidaying at California’s Lake Tahoe, later emerged from a spin class and told reporters he saw Trump’s photo on television.
US President Joe Biden speaks with reporters following a pilates class and spin class at Lake Tahoe in California.Credit: AP
“Handsome guy, wonderful guy,” he said with a smile, when asked what he thought.
But even with Trump’s trademark bravado, his surrender to authorities in Georgia – and he did surrender, despite what the T-shirt says – over an alleged conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election must have been jarring for a man who campaigned for office that year as a “law and order president”.
The former real estate mogul and reality TV star wasn’t accustomed to the inside of a prison – let alone a prison as notoriously filthy and violent as the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.
Indeed, shortly after returning to the sanctity of his Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey after being booked, Trump admitted in interviews on right-wing cable networks that he found the experience “very sad”, “uncomfortable” and something “I never thought I’d have to go through”.
At one point, he even claimed that he had “never heard the word mugshot” until recently.
“They didn’t teach me that in the Wharton School of Finance,” he told Newsmax’s Greg Kelly, a reference to the University of Pennsylvania college where Trump graduated in 1968.
Trump has a reputation for being someone who enjoys control. The former president and team have seized the opportunity to reclaim the narrative after having had to give it up in the confines the prison on Friday morning (AEST).
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Around two hours after he posted the $US200,000 bail and surrendered, Trump returned to Twitter – now known as X – to post the infamous mugshot with a hyperlink to his fundraising page.
It was the first time he’d been on the platform since January 8, 2021, when Twitter suspended him indefinitely amid fears he would incite additional violence following the deadly US Capitol riot.
X owner Elon Musk reinstated Trump’s account in November after taking over the company, but the former president had opted to stay on his own Truth Social platform instead. There have been many changes since then.
All of Trump’s 18 alleged co-defendants in the Georgia case surrendered by the Friday deadline set by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Jeffrey Clark, a former senior Justice Department official accused of conspiring with Trump to reverse the Georgia election results, surrendered soon after him.
Donald Trump and 11 out of the 18 individuals charged with him. Ray Smith (top row) from left to right: Rudy Giuliani Jenna Ellis. From left, middle row: Sidney Powell; Cathy Latham; Kenneth Chesebro. David Shafer (bottom row) from left: Scott Hall, John Eastman. Harrison Floyd. Mark Meadows.Credit: Reuters
Both the last defendants – former Kanye publicist Trevian Kautti and Illinois Pastor Stephen Lee – have turned themselves in. The charges against them are related to attempts to pressurize an elderly poll worker into making false statements about the role she will play in administering the 2020 elections.
It is now up to the co-defendants whether they will turn on their former commander in chief. Three Georgia Republicans who claimed falsely to be Trump’s electors and are now being charged with him said earlier in the week that they took these steps because they were directed to by the then-president, and his legal team.
They made their claim in a series court filings on behalf of the former Republican state chair David Shafer as well state senator Shawn Still and Cathleen Lattam, a local party official.
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With 15 months until the 2024 presidential election, Trump faces four separate trials: one in New York over alleged hush money payments; another in Florida over classified documents; one in Washington for his role in trying to stop Biden’s victory from being certified; and now Georgia.
He is still the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination to be made next year. This could lead to a rematch against Biden.
And diehard fans – such as those who gathered outside the jail for his surrender, or at the first Republican primary debate in Wisconsin the night before – believe he can win.
“He’s the only person that’s gonna be able to turn America around,” supporter Dan Henning told this masthead.
“We had the safest border when Trump was in, and you look at it now. It’s just shameful. We’re one of the most indebted nations on Earth, we can’t look after our homeless, and we have a two-tiered justice system. What’s happening to America is just horrific.”
At the first Republican debate, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley (left), Florida governor Ron DeSantis (right), businessman Vivek RAMASWAMY and former vice president Mike Pence raised their hands to support Trump.Credit: AP/Morry Gash
It’s Trump’s strong base that has made his party rivals so reluctant to criticise him. He skipped the first debate citing the extraordinary lead he had in the polls. But one of the most telling moment was when Fox News’ Brett Baier asked candidates if they would still support Trump even if convicted.
Six of eight raised their hands: Florida governor Ron DeSantis. Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley. Former vice president Mike Pence. Senator Tim Scott. North Dakota governor Doug Bergum. Only two – former governors Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson – declined.
“Someone’s got to stop normalising this conduct,” Christie said amid a chorus of boos from the audience at the Fivers Forum in Milwaukee.
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Back in Georgia, all 19 mugshots are in – and the legal maneuvering has begun. Willis initially wanted the trial to begin in March 2024 and prosecuted all defendants simultaneously.
Kenneth Chesebro – a co-defendant who was formerly a Trump lawyer – foiled the plan. He requested a fast trial which, according to Georgia law, forced Willis into responding with an earlier date. When she nominated October 23 this year, Trump’s lawyers filed a motion to sever their man from Chesebro’s case – and won.
It was yet another example of a former president with a long and distinguished history who never gives up without a fight.