On Thursday, Aug. 24, former President Donald Trump surrendered at Fulton County jail after facing more than a dozen charges surrounding his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump — inmate P01135809 — was released on bond just 20 minutes after being processed.
“One nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all,” is the last line of our pledge of allegiance — something engraved in every American’s head since elementary school. However, in light of the issues surrounding our former president, what should be a principle element of equal democracy, is now being coined a joke with America and in other countries. One single mugshot made Americans the laughingstock of the entire world.
Trump’s mugshot sparked an immediate reaction all over social media. After two years away from Twitter, now called “X,” Trump returned to post his mugshot with the following caption: “ELECTION INTERFERENCE, NEVER SURRENDER!” The former president has already started selling t-shirts with his mugshot on them.
Various X users left comments regarding tabloids making jokes about a former U.S. president having multiple felony charges to their name, such as “Americans that think Donald doesn’t make them a worldwide joke are kidding themselves.” How citizens from other countries feel about America is being displayed on social media. Our government being the joke all around the world is not something that Americans should be proud of.
Though many Americans consider the mugshots a joke, it reveals a prominent issue in America. Trump has faced accusations of extremely serious crimes. Many of which erode our democracy, including the Jan. 6 insurrection case, the Georgia election interference case, the classified documents case and the hush money case.
Trump is already making millions off his mugshot, and many Americans do not have a problem with it. The mugshot has been taken as a joke, but it has become a representation of America, a mockery of American politics as it is today.
Trump is still on the ballot for the 2024 presidential election, despite his charges and accusations. If Trump wins in the next presidential election, which would be his last term in office, America will have elected a felon as a president. Although these accusations started during his presidency and most of his crimes were committed during his presidency, it would appear worse if citizens chose a felon to run this country.
When Trump got arrested on April 5, following the hush money case, it felt as if our democracy was headed in the right direction. A president got charged for something he did involving our government and justice was being served for a significant issue. Yet, currently, Trump’s arrest has been treated less seriously than it was the first time.
While nobody expected the former president’s mugshot to be like the smiley Justin Bieber one in 2014, many did not expect people to perceive it as a message of honor. Trump’s followers see his defiance and hostility as an influential matter in America, stating their pride in his “stand against those destroying the rule of law.” The division of opinions that sprung from a singular mugshot reflects how politics has caused a split among Americans. While others see it as a medal of honor that should be flaunted, Americans should view it as a humiliating staple in American history.
Yes, a mugshot can be seen as a badge of honor — Martin Luther King was arrested for fighting for civil rights — but Trump’s mugshot represents a broken political system and is an embarrassment to American politics and America as a whole.
Making jokes about a president’s arrest is like putting a band-aid on the gaping wound that is democracy in the U.S. today. It is Americans not wanting to accept the truth of just how embarrassing and concerning it is to have a former president with felony charges still able to re-run for president.
America needs to stop placing band-aids on issues concerning our democracy and start stitching the gashes once and for all by finally holding Trump accountable for his actions.
