Trump’s historic mugshot and a recap of what led to his arrest

The first ever mugshot of a former  U.S. president has been released to the public and it’s all over the internet.

Photo: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images

Trump surrendered Thursday night in Atlanta in connection with his indictment in Georgia on charges he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, several media reported.

He posted his mugshot on X (Twitter) with the words “ELECTION INTERFERENCE. NEVER SURRENDER,” plus the link to his website, being his first post on that social platform since 2021.

Trump’s PAC already started to fundraise off the mug shot with T-shirts. Those who donated $47 or more (the number 47 indicating his possibly being elected the 47th president) got a free shirt with the words “NEVER SURRENDER” under the historic mugshot, Politico reported.

Now he’s facing a $200,000 bond and orders not to send threatening social media messages as he awaits trial, according to a bond agreement signed by Trump's attorneys and the Fulton County district attorney, Reuters reported.

Trump allies charged in the Georgia indictment include Rudy Giuliani (pictured) and John Eastman who also surrendered to authorities this week, according to Reuters.

The charges stem from a long-running criminal investigation into the efforts made by Trump and his allies to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

The criminal indictments and several investigations that loom over the former president have raised a number of legal questions; one of them being: do criminal charges disqualify Trump from being elected president? The short answer is no.

The country’s Constitution sets forth very explicit requirements for presidency: being at least 35 years old, a U.S. resident for 14 years and a natural-born citizen. It does not require, however, that the president be free from indictment, conviction or even prison.

That being said, Fortune Magazine recalled that the Department of Justice concluded, in a 1973 memo, that governing from jail would be extremely difficult as core functions would be affected.

Essential presidential functions, such as, meetings abroad and access to classified information in a room that’s spy-proof, would make it “extremely difficult”, the DOJ memo concluded. However, not impossible.

If he loses, he would be looking at jail time, Collinson says. However, he has a good chance of winning. According to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, Trump is “crushing” his main rival DeSantis, and would be head to head with Biden in a hypothetical election.

The timing of the trials could be important, however. CNN political commentator Scott Jennings, a Republican, argued that voters have the right to know the outcome of the criminal cases  before making their decision on a new president in November 2024.

But an outcome may not be known before the presidential election, because while prosecutors in the case have proposed that the trial start on March 4, 2024, Trump's lawyers have asked for a 2026 trial, according to CNN.