Former President Donald Trump was arraigned today on 34 felony charges associated with a hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels. It was a historic moment in United States history, the first time that a former president has been criminally charged.
Trump’s already raising money off his supposed “mugshot.”
While Trump was being processed for the arraignment, his presidential campaign sent out an email blast. The email asked supporters to donate $47 to receive a “free” T-shirt with a fake mugshot.
The image on the shirts is simply Trump’s social media profile photo in black and white overlayed on the standard backdrop for mugshots. His fake inmate number is “45-47,” a nod to him being the 45th president and vying to be the 47th one.
It’s been widely reported that authorities were not expected to actually take a mugshot of Trump prior to the arraignment. Some analysts believe that the decision was based in part on the expectation that he planned to use it to raise funds.
The billionaire ex-president has already raised millions for his legal defense.
Trump’s campaign mugshot fundraiser was met with a collective sigh and some amusement online.
Even some conservatives were miffed. “But there is no official mugshot….” Wayne DuPree commented.
“Not giving us a Trump mugshot is a direct attack on the wallets of conservative merch grifters how could they do this,” Ashley St. Clair of the conservative satirical site the Babylon Bee tweeted.
Trump pled not guilty to the charges. A trial date has not been set.
