Trump turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday on charges related to business fraud. However, his fans and detractors aren’t necessarily happy that he managed to bypass getting his mugshot taken, largely because they've been stripped of an inevitably hilarious moment. Boosie Badazz, specifically, shared his commentary on the arrest. Though praising Trump’s attorneys, he also felt like celebrities should receive similar treatment. “I WONDER WHAT @realDonaldTrump ATTORNEYS FILED SO HE DIDNT HAVE TO GET HIS MUGSHOT TAKEN? #smartmove BUT THIS HAS TO GO FOR ALL CELEBRITIES RIGHT? MUGSHOTS CAN DAMAGE SOMEONES BRAND,” he tweeted.
Boosie does have a point. Anytime a celebrity takes a mugshot, it ends up circulating faster than lightning. However, Trump is the former president, so there is undoubtedly some sort of exceptions made. New York prohibits law enforcement from publicly releasing mug shots. Still, the former deputy commissioner of the NYPD said it was rather unusual for anyone to be exempt from getting their mugshot taken, per CBS. “In fact, you might be hard pressed to find a past case like this in Manhattan,” Richard Esposito said.
Why Didn’t Trump Get His Mugshot Taken?
At this point, it remains unclear exactly why Trump didn’t get a mugshot taken. However, one of the theories is that people felt like this could give ammunition to Trump and his opponents during the election. Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney who is representing him in other legal issues, explained that “he’s the most recognized face in the world right now” so he didn’t require a mugshot. She added, “Mug shots are for people so that you recognize who they are.”
With or without a mugshot, Trump has already launched a merch line after a grand jury indicted him on 34 counts, to which he pleaded not guilty to. The former president began selling a T-shirt that features a black-and-white faux mugshot of Trump with “NOT GUILTY” written underneath. We could imagine that he would’ve used his actual mugshot if one had been taken as a way to control the narrative. We’ll keep you posted on any more updates surrounding Donald Trump’s indictment. Do you agree with Boosie’s statements? Let us know in the comments below.
