Inside the Frenzy Around the Mug Shots of Trump and His Allies

The promise of a presidential first had social media—and Etsy sellers—in a firestorm By Alyssa Lukpat and Jacob Gallagher Aug. 25, 2023 Tap story

Donald Trump glared. Rudy Giuliani wore a flag pin. Lawyer Jenna Ellis, in bright lipstick, smiled.

There might be subtle messages behind the mug shots that the former president and his associates have taken this week as they surrender at Georgia’s Fulton County jail on state election-subversion charges, crisis-communication experts say.

The mug shot is a classic jail ritual that authorities use to identify people facing charges . Even if the person is released, their moment in jail is immortalized in a mug shot and often enshrined in the public record. The images, which wind up in news stories and sometimes on T-shirts and in memes, can shape public narratives. An office worker files fingerprints and mugshots in the 1930s. Photo: Library of Congress

Within hours of Donald Trump surrendering himself to authorities Thursday night, items plastered with the glowering former president in his signature suit and cherry-red tie were all over Etsy, eBay and the custom-design site Redbubble.

Jennifer Daniels, a nurse from Palm Coast, Fla., bought a shot glass with Trump’s mug shot printed on it. She said she doesn’t like the former president but wanted an item to commemorate a historic moment. A $15 shot glass sold by the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group.

In near-record time, Trump’s mug shot has joined Che Guevara’s bereted visage, sneering Bart Simpson and the goofy Minions as a wearable meme—the sort of image that will be found in souvenir shops and thrift-store racks for years to come. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty

Trump’s co-opting of his own booking photo—the first taken of a former U.S. president—could be a savvy strategy. “You kind of take a little bit of the power away if you make a mockery out of” the charges, said Brock Shelby, a business consultant in Sugar Land, Texas, who sells T-shirts as a side hustle on Etsy.

While authorities didn’t take mug shots during Trump’s previous three indictments, Fulton County made clear it would give the former president his moment in front of the camera. “We are following our normal practices and so it doesn’t matter your status, we have mug shots ready for you,” Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said during a press conference in early August, before charges were announced. Ben Gray/AP

Giuliani, once a federal prosecutor, looked displeased to be at the bottom rung of the justice system in his mug shot. “I thought Giuliani’s face was just about right. He didn’t look besieged and he didn’t look thrilled,” said Eric Dezenhall, the chairman of Dezenhall Resources, a crisis-management firm.

Giuliani may have been trying to evoke his image after Sept. 11, 2001, by wearing an American flag pin, said Molly McPherson, a crisis-communications expert. As mayor of New York City, he was recognized for his compassionate stewardship after the terrorist attacks. “This is a legacy mug shot,” McPherson said. “He wants people to remember he was ‘America’s mayor’ at one time.” Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Russell Boyce/Press Pool

On Wednesday afternoon, his booking photo circulated online. Less than 24 hours later, sellers on Etsy were offering Giuliani mug-shotted items like a $24 T-shirt and an $18 mug that read “America’s Mayor” along the photo. Rudy Giuliani’s booking photo inspired Etsy merchandise, such as this $18 coffee mug.

Ellis and former Georgia GOP chairman David Shafer took a page from a celebrity playbook by smiling in their photos, just like Justin Bieber, Shia LaBeouf and others before them. Ellis stood out in her mug shot because she wore bright lipstick, McPherson said. “It sends a signal that she cares about how she’s portrayed in this case in the press,” McPherson said, “and wants to be portrayed as more glamorous and not having a care in the world.”

Mug shots are now the most well-known part of the jail booking process and have been satirized on film and television, including in this year’s “Barbie” movie. Trump and his allies have no rights over the images—it’s the property of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, said Jane C. Ginsburg, professor of literary and artistic property law at Columbia Law School. Warner Bros./Everett Collection

Dezenhall said there is no winning when it comes to a mug shot. It is a public-relations nightmare. “If you look like you’ve just been hit by a truck, it leads to discussion of how the mighty have fallen,” he said. “If you’re grinning broadly, it looks like you’re not taking it seriously.” Al Drago/Bloomberg News More on mug shots

Produced by : Matthew Riva Cover, additional photos : Joe Raedle/Getty, Fulton County Sheriff's Office/Reuters, Cheney Orr for The Wall Street Journal Read more : Trump and His Allies Learn the Art of the Mug Shot, One Flag Pin and Scowl at a Time Trump’s Mug Shot, a Presidential First, Is a Merch Bonanza Rudy Giuliani Turns Himself In for Booking in Georgia Trump and His Orbit: The Scope of Georgia’s Election Case Explained