Donald Trump’s photograph, taken in an Atlanta jail as part of the official arrest process, the first time this has happened to a former president in US history, is a source of humiliation in advance.
Yet the billionaire, a champion of communications policy, has already turned it into a formidable marketing weapon for the 2024 presidential election.
With his head tilted slightly forward, a very hard, even aggressive, look in defiance: the photo of the 45th US president, captured by the Atlanta sheriff’s services, has been making the rounds since Thursday night.
The New York Post, owned by conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch, ran yesterday, Friday, with the photo taking up its entire front page, without a headline.
Once the photo was made public, Trump’s supporters presented the Republican former president as a “hero” who has fallen victim to persecution and a “witch hunt” orchestrated by Joe Biden’s Democrats.