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Donald Trump appears to have hung his own mugshot along a hallway just outside of the Oval Office.
The infamous booking photo, which appears to be a New York Post front page, was spotted hanging proudly as the president welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House.
The viral mugshot, showing a scowling Trump, raising an eyebrow while looking straight at the camera, was seen in press photographs behind the head of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Thursday.
Trump was photographed at Fulton County jail in August 2023 after surrendering on racketeering and conspiracy charges of an alleged scheme to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. He was released on a $200,000 and denies all allegations.
Afterwards, he decried the sprawling case – which has since been paused – as “a travesty of justice.”
Prosecutors alleged that Trump, along with more than a dozen allies, “knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome” of the 2020 election in Georgia. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the case against Trump in February 2021, was dismissed from the case in December over a “significant” conflict of interest.
Rather than feeling an ounce of shame, the president weaponized the image to his campaign’s benefit.
From a day after the mugshot was publicly released, Trump began hawking merchandise – t-shirts, mugs and bumper stickers – emblazoned with image and the phrase: “Never Surrender!”
Within the first day after the image was made public, Trump’s campaign reportedly raised more than $4 million, according to his then-aid, Steven Cheung.
The mugshot bears an uncanny resemblance to the president’s official portrait last month, which also shows him scowling, eyebrows raised as his eyes stare down the barrel of the camera.
On Thursday, Modi became the fourth world leader to visit Trump at the White House during his second term as president.
The interaction with U.S. and Indian journalists marked a rare unscripted moment for the Indian leader, who has largely avoided interactions with the media throughout his 11 years in power.