ATLANTA — Following getting booked in jail on Thursday, former President Donald Trump posted on social media platform "X", formerly known as Twitter, for the first time since January 8, 2021. The post was a link to his campaign website with a picture of his mugshot.
According to Politico, the former president's campaign raised millions since then, including $4.18 million on Friday alone. Politico reported that number makes it the highest 24-hour period of the campaign thus far.
"I am not surprised at all," said Andra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University. "Because, one, I recognize that Trump is a master marketer, and he was not going to... forego an opportunity to be able to capitalize on this both politically and then also monetarily. And then second, this is the last indictment. And so because we don't anticipate any further indictments, it's not surprising to me that this would be the one that would make the most money."
Gillespie said Trump formerly predicted this is the indictment that would seal the nomination for him. She said while there are still poll numbers that need to come out, as of now, it looks like he will win without much of a fight.
WinRed.com, which reports 90% of profits go to Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc., has T-shirts, mugs, koozies, and more, complete with a mugshot, displayed for sale on its website.
"This is a man who breaks norms," Gillespie said. "And so it's not surprising a man that would break norms in every other respects, including in the ways that he is alleged to have done in this case, which got him indicted in the first place, would then break more norms by raising money off of a mug shot."
Gillespie also noted this isn't the first mugshot the campaign used as a cash grab, explaining the campaign capitalized on previous, fake mugshots.
She said while the campaign may be benefitting in the short term, there could be long-term negative effects.
"I think the larger question is, once he secures the nomination, 'How does this play out in a general election?' The polls that I've seen have former President Trump and President Biden in a statistical tie," Gillespie said. "But as more information comes out and as the campaigns put their get-out-the-vote strategies together, I think it becomes a question as to whether or not these indictments and, depending on how fast some of these trials go, the outcomes of these trials end up posing as an albatross for former President Trump."
She noted another long-term, negative effect could be on his legacy. Gillespie said that, while the indictment is bringing in money now, the former president doesn't have a favorable rating as of now because of the allegations.