T-shirts, mugs and other merchandise featuring Donald Trump’s historic—and already viral—mugshot are allegedly already finding buyers online, according to social media users, with the former president commercializing his own booking photograph.
Trump on Thursday became the first former president in the history of the U.S. to have his mugshot taken, after being booked at Fulton County jail in Georgia on 13 felony counts.
He is accused of conspiring with 18 co-defendants to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election in the state, but he has denied any wrongdoing, saying that the case is part of a political “witch hunt” against him.
The former president has been indicted four times this year, but this is the first time he has had his mugshot taken, alongside most of the co-defendants in the case.
CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images
His visit to the county jail lasted about 20 minutes, as the former president was only processed and wasn’t held in custody as he had already agreed on Monday to pay a bond set at $200,000. He reportedly used a bail bondsman, paying only $20,000 and taking up a loan for the rest of the sum.
Later on Thursday, Trump—who’s currently the favorite candidate in polling for the Republican primary for the 2024 presidential election—launched a new mugshot-inspired line on his campaign site that includes T-shirts, mugs and stickers.
“NEVER SURRENDER,” reads the slogan on the T-shirts, which are priced at $34, the mugs, priced at $25, and the 4″x4″ set of two stickers, which the website suggests people stick on the back of their car.
The former president is not the only one profiting from the historic mugshot, with several sellers on websites like Etsy and Redbubble selling stickers, T-shirts and mugs featuring the photo—whether with a pro-Trump message or an anti-Trump slogan.
Conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, asking people “how many of you will buy merch with Trump’s mugshot?”
How many of you will buy merch with Trump’s mugshot?
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 24, 2023
Several people responded by saying it was a “done deal,” adding that they would buy “only on Trump’s store. To support Trump.”
“It will be the best-selling t-shirt in history. And I want one,” said one X user. “Got the mugshot mug and T-shirt!!!,” wrote another.
It’s unclear how many people have already bought the merchandise. Newsweek contacted Trump’s campaign for comment by email on Friday.
The same message on Trump’s merchandise, “Never Surrender,” was also posted by the former president on X, where he shared the mugshot after his visit to the county jail, breaking a yearslong absence on the platform.
Despite X owner Elon Musk restoring Trump’s banned account earlier this year, the former president had until now ignored the social media platform, preferring to stick to his own Truth Social.
In the post, the former president shared the mugshot with a text reading: “Mugshot—August 24, 2023. Election interference. Never surrender!”
Leftwingers were also seen celebrating Trump’s mugshot, with a clip shared by U.S. pro-democracy organization The Lincoln Project showing hundreds of people jumping and cheering when the picture was shown on CNN.
Despite the four federal and criminal indictments that have hit the former president this year, Trump is still leading polls for the Republican 2024 primary. As of August 24, Trump led with 51.6 percent of the vote, according to FiveThirtyEight, trailed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on 14.8 percent of the vote.