Donald Trump’s Mug Shot Is Already Being Used In Political Fundraising — Including His Own

Donald Trump returned to the platform formerly known as Twitter to blast out his mug shot and direct supporters to his website. In his first tweet since Jan. 8, 2021, the former president blasted out the photo with a link to his website, where supporters are asked to “make a contribution to evict Crooked Joe Biden from the White House and SAVE America during this dark chapter in our nation’s history.” Trump’s campaign plastered the mug shot on beer koozies, mugs and T-shirts that say, “NEVER SURRENDER!” Trump’s mug shot, the first resulting from his many legal troubles, also appeared Friday in a fundraising plea from Sen. Marsha Blackburn that promises to direct “all defense pledges” to Trump’s campaign, despite the fine print stating that her joint-fundraising account gets to keep $99 of every $100 raised — a division of fundraising spoils that isn’t uncommon. “Both parties are going to use Trump’s mug shot to raise money,” Mike Nellis, the founder of Authentic, a Democrat-focused digital marketing and fundraising agency, told HuffPost. No doubt about it.” The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the fundraising arm of House Democrats, used the mug shot Friday in a fundraising appeal with the subject “Donald Trump ARRESTED” from a sender labeled “BREAKING NEWS.” “Both parties are going to use Trump’s mug shot to raise money. Sticka said Democrats should avoid the temptation to “respond to every little thing that Trump says.” Despite Trump’s liberal use of his own image to bolster his presidential campaign, Trump adviser Chris LaCivita threatened others against doing the same, even though it’s very unlikely the Trump campaign would have legal grounds to prevent it.