Donald Trump has started tweeting – or “X-ing” – again, and his three most recent posts paint a sinister picture of the former president.
On 25 August, Trump posted a picture of his mugshot, which was recently taken at Fulton County, Georgia.
He wrote beneath the mugshot: “Election interference, never surrender!”
It comes as the 77-year-old continues trying to use his multiple indictments to promote his re-run for the presidency next year. There is no evidence that his multiple indictments and criminal charges are part of election interference.
But the two posts beneath on his timeline tell a story of Trump’s own alleged interference in US democracy.
The posts are from 8 January 2021, two days after a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington DC, in an armed insurrection attempt.
The House select committee that investigated the incident later said the attack was the culmination of a plan by Trump to overturn the election, which president Joe Biden won.
Trump tweeted on 8 January 2021: “The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”
Then later, he added: “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”
One journalist, Cate Martel at The Hill, pointed out that the posts were “pretty striking” laid out next to each other.
Another X user commented below: “I mean, did anyone see the clear progression here?”
One other pointed out that his message about never surrendering was a bit out of place, given the fact that he literally did surrender to have his mugshot taken.
“But… he did surrender,” they said.
The former president’s brief booking at Fulton County Jail marks yet another jawdropping moment as Trump, who is the Republican frontrunner for the 2024 election, was again under arrest in a major criminal case.
The mugshot came during prime-time viewing hours for the cable news networks. Trump is said to have insisted his lawyers negotiate with prosecutors that he get that time slot.
In addition to the mugshot that he had so far managed to avoid – which is also the first ever taken of a former US president – Trump had his fingerprints taken and had his weight recorded as 97.5kg.
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