Donald Trump enjoys million-dollar bonanza off mugshot, Georgia arrest
Donald Trump’s historic mugshot has been a hit with supporters and has generated millions of dollars for his campaign. See how.
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Former US President Donald Trump’s mugshot and booking at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia has paid off.
The booking photo in which the four-time indicted former reality TV show star and businessman has helped drive a $7.1 million ($A11.09m) fundraising bonanza, a source confirmed to the New York Post.
The ‘Free Trump Collection’ says it is a service of the “legal defense fund”.
But The Post reports the Trump presidential campaign will also be capitalising off the unprecedented mug shot.
Trump is the first-ever US president, current or former, to have an arrest photo.
The photo, which features the former president scowling into the camera, has been used to sell merchandise and quickly went viral.
Merchandise emblazoned with Trump’s mug includes T-shirts, bumper stickers, coffee mugs and more that are selling online for between $US12 ($A19) and $US34 ($A53) a piece.
On Friday alone, the campaign pulled in $4.18 million ($A6.4m), marking its most lucrative day so far, as reported by Politico.
Trump also made his long-awaited return from exile to X, formerly known as Twitter, posting the historic image to help turbocharge his appeal to voters as a martyr. It also went viral as a meme.
Trump was booked after he was slapped with 13-counts by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for alleged 2020 Georgia election tampering earlier this month.
He has vehemently denied wrongdoing and decried the ordeal as “election interference.”
This is not the first time, Trump has managed to make a profit or generate publicity from his legal problems.
Following his first indictment in New York City over alleged hush money payments, the campaign touted a $5 million ($A7.8m) haul in the first 48 hours.
Moreover, the mounting legal woes against the former president appear to be solidifying his standing in the 2024 GOP primary.
Trump currently holds a 41 point lead in the primary, up from around 15 points prior to his first indictment, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.
In total, the former president is facing 91 counts, including the 34-count indictment out of Manhattan, a 40-count indictment for alleged hoarding of classified documents, and a four-count indictment for alleged 2020 election subversion.
He has pleaded not guilty in the first three cases and professed his innocence in the Fulton County, Georgia matter.
Trump is the first current or former US president to get hit with a criminal indictment, though Ulysses S. Grant was briefly apprehended for speeding in his horse and buggy.
American voters appear uneasy over the prospect of his various legal foibles looming over the election.
Some 61 per cent of voters want the federal 2020 election subversion case to take place before the 2024 election and 62 per cent want the document case to take place before then, according to a recent Politico Magazine/Ipsos poll.
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Originally published as Donald Trump enjoys million-dollar bonanza off mugshot, Georgia arrest
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