Donald Trump Mugshot Sparks Avalanche of Jokes, Memes

The release of Donald Trump's mugshot on Thursday, following his arrest in Georgia's Fulton County, sparked a wave of jokes and memes on social media as the world reacted to the already iconic photograph.

Trump surrendered himself at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail after being indicted on 13 counts over allegations be broke the law attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in Georgia. The former president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, describing the case against him as a "WITCH HUNT" and "ELECTION INTERFERENCE" on his Truth Social website.

Jail records describe Trump as a 6'3" white male with "blond or strawberry" hair and weighing 215 pounds. He was released on a $200,000 bond, a condition of which was that Trump "shall perform no act to intimidate" either any of his 18 co-defendants or witnesses in the case.

The mugshot was widely shared on social media including by Trump himself, who posted it on X, formerly known as Twitter, his first use of the platform since he was banned from it in the immediate aftermath of the storming of Congress by hundreds of his supporters in January 2021.

Anti-Trump conservative group The Lincoln Project shared a video appearing to show hundreds of people in a bar celebrating and throwing drinks in the air when the mugshot first appeared on CNN. The footage is actually of England soccer fans during the 2018 World Cup, and has been widely edited as a meme.

In a second X post The Lincoln Project published a modified clip of Trump and wife Melania Trump outside the White House, with the mug shot superimposed over the then-First Lady's dress.

New York Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman shared a 39-second video of his reaction to Trump's fourth arrest, with the mugshot situated in the background. The congressman spent the first half of the video laughing, after which he said: "We got you! We got you! And more to come! Clown! Thug! Crook! Criminal!"

Another X user shared a composite image of Trump's mugshot with a picture of former President Barack Obama, who is holding a camera as though he took the mugshot.

A different user posted an edited image of the mugshot that made Trump appear far younger, with one wag commeting that it looked like Melania.

Democrat supporting influencer Joanne Carducci, better known as JoJoFromJerz, shared a cartoon mocking the reaction of Trump supporters to the firebrand Republican's arrest. A sea of Trump backers are seen carrying placards bearing the slogan "lock her up," which the then-presidential candidate used in reference to Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 presidential election. One of the people in the cartoon comments: "Arresting a leading presidential candidate is nothing but sleazy politics!"

However not all X reactions were so negative, with Trump-supporting Arizona Republican Kari Lake posting what appears to be an AI-generated image of the former president with long hair, wearing purple robes and sunglasses. She jokingly wrote: "Lots of fake mugshots right now. This is real."

Newsweek has contacted Donald Trump for comment via the press inquiry form on his official website.

Trump is also facing charges relating to claims he orchestrated the payment of hush money to a pornographic actress, mishandled classified documents and broke the law attempting to block Biden's 2020 election victory. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts, and strongly denies any wrongdoing.

Polling indicates Trump has a commanding lead in the race to be the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, well ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.