Nine major bombshells emerge from Trump's historic arrest after 4th indictment
Thursday evening saw a whirlwind of political happenings in the US, and it all centered on former President Donald Trump. Nine outrageous moments stood out from the rest, including Trump's return to Twitter, now X, and a few pitiful claims he made.
The Republican, who is running for another term as president in the 2024 presidential race, was arrested for the fourth time at the Fulton County Jail near Atlanta, Georgia, on 13 felony charges related to his alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 election that saw his rival, Democrat Joe Biden, take over the Oval Office.
It was the fourth indictment against the businessman, who was charged earlier this year in a hush money case for allegedly paying off porn star Stormy Daniels, then again months later for hiding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and yet another time earlier this month for an additional slew of charges related to 2020 election fraud — these ones at the federal level.
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Trump was arrested in the evening of Thursday, August 24 (Sky News)On Thursday, he answered the state-level election fraud charges incurred in Georgia, flying on his private Boeing 757 jet from New Jersey to The Big Peach and landing at about 7pm local time.
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When he exited his plane, he sported his signature navy blue suit, a white shirt and a bright red tie and could be seen smiling, waving and giving thumbs up gestures to reporters and supporters waiting for him at the Atlanta airport.
By around 7:40pm, he was at the jail, getting booked. Then, he was released, a bond company called Foster Bail Bonds LLC, based in Lawrenceville, which paid his $200,000 fee.
Trump arrived at the Fulton County Jail at around 7:40pm on Thursday (AP)Minutes later, he was addressing the public at a brief press conference outside his private jet at the airport, where he denied doing anything wrong and reiterated his position that the 2020 election had been "stolen" and "rigged." He called Thursday's events a "travesty of justice" and a political ploy by his opponents.
Here were the nine most shocking moments from Thursday evening.
1. A historic mugshot was snapped
Scowling, his brow furrowed with disgust, Trump had a photo of himself snapped at the Fulton County Jail. It marked the first-ever mugshot taken of a former US president.
The image quickly circulated social media, and the Republican himself even posted it to his accounts.
The historic mugshot of Donald Trump (Getty Images)Official jail records state that Trump is 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds. He also proclaimed that he has blue eyes and hair that is "strawberry or blonde." Those characteristics later became internet memes, and many slammed the former president for reportedly describing himself incorrectly.
2. Trump claims to have lost 2 stone (28 lbs)
When Trump waltzed into the Fulton County Jail on Thursday, he claimed to weigh just 215 pounds — approximately two stone (28 lbs) or more lighter than his previous claim of 240 pounds in April during the first indictment.
Bookies had been taking bets on what the businessman actually weighed, specifically if he was over or under 278.5 pounds.
Trump claimed to have lost over 20 pounds with his latest weight report (Getty Images)Trump has been accused of lying about his weight — and his height, for that matter — in the past. In 2018, an official report from a leading medical examiner revealed his weight at 239 pounds, but many were in disbelief that the politician weighed so little.
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The reveal of his 215-pound weight on Thursday sparked similar comments. It also comes just days after he attacked Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is running for president in 2024, for his eating habits, which then prompted his supporters to call the politician a "fat pig" — a comment Trump actually reprimanded.
Trump is also accused of adding an inch to his height in recent years, perhaps to offset his BMI rating, which would be "obese" if he were actually 6 foot 2 and not 6 foot 3, and for lying about the color of his hair, which is not "strawberry" blonde, many people believe.
3. Trump gave a pitiful interview to Fox News
In a pitiful interview with Fox News following his arrest and subsequent release, the former president said getting his mugshot taken was "not a comfortable feeling."
He stated: "They insisted on a mugshot and I agreed to do that. This is the only time I’ve ever taken a mugshot. It is not a comfortable feeling — especially when you’ve done nothing wrong."
Trump said getting a mugshot taken of him was 'not a comfortable experience' (AP)The statement was ironic considering that, in 1989, he advocated for the death penalty against five Black teenagers who, at the time, were convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park in New York City. They were exonerated in 2002, their statements admitting to the crime proven false, and the incident went down in history as one of America's most severe miscarriages of justice.
4. The booking lasted just 20 minutes
One of the moments that raised the most eyebrows from Thursday evening's proceedings was the amount of time he spent in the Fulton County Jail as he was booked.
All the fanfare and hype surrounding the former president's booking culminated in a pathetic 20 minutes spent inside the jail, where he was fingerprinted and had his mugshot taken — and where he also provided his biometric statistics, which sparked controversy.
The booking sheet for Donald Trump, which lists his physical characteristics (Sky News)Having had his $200,000 bail posted by the bond company, he was allowed to leave as soon as the proceedings were over, but many were still shocked at the ordeal lasting a mere 20 minutes.
5. Trump returned to Twitter
For the first time in more than two years, Trump posted to his Twitter account — sharing a picture of his iconic mugshot with the simple caption: "Election interference never surrender!" It also contained a link to his campaign website, where a fundraiser was attached to an inflammatory statement.
Trump was permanently banned from the social media platform, which is now known as X, on January 8, 2021, after his tweets that allegedly incited violence during the historic Capitol riot on January 6 that year.
The first post Donald Trump made to Twitter in over two years was of his mugshot (Twitter)Twitter accused the former president of inciting violence, which violates its guidelines, and thus banned him. But when Elon Musk took over the platform last year, he reinstated Trump's access in November.
Trump, however, opted to continue using Truth Social, the platform he made to mimic Twitter following his ban — until Thursday.
6. Trump is urgently fundraising because he's skint
Trump's return to Twitter may have been for an important reason — to fundraise for his presidential campaign, and to raise money for his expensive legal team, which has been representing him and his allies throughout the criminal ordeal.
Because Twitter has always garnered the former president a massive amount of attention, posting to the platform may have been a calculated way for him to garner donors to fund his fight.
Some speculate that Trump took to Twitter in an attempt to fundraise after spending so much on legal defences (AP)His political operation has become financially strained, with tens of millions of dollars from it being rerouted to the legal defence of the businessman. He needs to regain money, and posting to Twitter may be the most effective way for him to do so and appeal to his supporters.
7. Biden tweets sassy message
President Joe Biden's re-election campaign immediately sprung into action following Trump's arrest, tweeting a link to the campaign's website.
The Democrat wrote: "Apropos of nothing, I think today's a great day to give to my campaign."
Essentially, Biden felt Trump's arrest and the intense media fanfare garnered by Thursday evening's proceedings was the perfect opportunity to draw attention back to his bid for a second term in office in 2024.
The tweet garnered over 17,000 likes as of early Friday morning.
8. Memes, merch and memories
A slew of hilarious memes and even merchandise came out of Trump's arrest and mugshot. Ahead of the booking, loads of Etsy shops started selling mugs, T-shirts and other collectibles featuring an AI-generated image of Trump in an orange jumpsuit in front of the stereotypical yet iconic black and white ruler background often seen in mugshots.
Twitter users were also fast to comment on various comments the former president made, including about his weight.
A mug of a fake mugshot of Donald Trump (Etsy)One hilarious user, @Brian_of_Judea, posted a side-by-side image of an American football star who weighs exactly 215 pounds and is 6 foot 3 and an old picture of Trump golfing, showing him wearing an extra baggy polo shirt as he looks especially rotund.
Another Twitter user, @QondiNtini, quote retweeted Biden's fundraising post, writing: "Apropos of nothing has me screaming. I am living for this Scorpio president. WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE."
9. How it looked to the rest of the world
Donald Trump's day trip to a notorious Atlanta jail to have his mugshot taken will forever remain an unthinkable moment in any presidential election.
The notion that the man wanting to once again become the leader of the free world could instead be caged if found guilty of a crime is an embarrassment America should be deeply ashamed of. Whether Trump's mugshot becomes a symbol of accountability or a rallying cry for his supporters remains to be seen.
But one thing is certain: the clown show that US politics has become with him as the ringleader rightfully has the rest of the world looking on in utter disbelief. It has left many questioning whether America remains the greatest country on earth.
Instead, much of the world now mocks the US, and that is all on Trump and his cronies, given the circus they have turned it into.
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