The Mugshot of Mugshots: Two Years Later

Reflections and perspective on the mugshot that transformed the American attitude and the vibe of the 2024 electorate

I will never forget where I was on August 24, 2023. I was staying at the Trump Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, in town to speak at a ReAwaken America event. Since news moves so quickly these days, online rumors quickly turned into the national realization that Fani Willis and her criminally corrupt Atlanta-based associates would be marching President Trump and many associates in front of a camera for mugshots associated with various “crimes” related to their challenges over Georgia’s 2020 election. Despite running an election that would make warlords in sub-Saharan Africa cringe out of concern for American citizens, they had the balls on them to make what I knew at the time would come back to be a critical error.

On August 26, 2023, just two days later, I posted five key points reflecting on Trump’s booking photo and the cultural impact it was certain to have. I am writing this looking back on two years of developments in full transparency, as I’m fond of doing, because I want all readers of the Captain K’s Corner newsletter to understand that I think through every word I put downrange, and value accuracy above all else in this endeavor.

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Key Point I – “America’s Rubicon Moment”

The Rubicon was a shallow river that served as a boundary between Rome and its provinces. Caesar crossed from a part of Gaul, where he was serving as governor. It was against the law to cross into Roman territory with an army, and Caesar knew this—he knew he was starting a civil war. He may have quoted one of his favorite plays when crossing the stream—Alea iacta est, the die is cast.

My point here was to highlight the spectacle Trump produced in willingly surrendering himself for this national disgrace of a photo. His initial campaign started eight years earlier, in 2015, pursuing the “forgotten men and women,” which given his electoral gains appeared to be the white working-class spread throughout the industrial states, particularly in the Midwest. By organizing a convoy through the heart of Atlanta to get to the Fulton County clink, Trump lent a voice to those who have been forgotten by Democrat overlords who do all they can to keep them poor, dependent on government, and constantly pelted with narratives of racial grievance entrenching the national dividing line of race that was on life support under Obama-era politics weaponizing it for electoral benefits. The moment said, “I have no fear,” and is, unfortunately, lost in time and a nation’s failing memory as the 24/7 news cycle churns.

The procession to the jail was one of the first major confirmations that the campaign was on in earnest, and an admonition of “try harder” to those seeking to abort the Trump campaign before it could ever gain momentum. Little did we know there would be a move to take his life in Butler County, Pennsylvania, just over 10 months later, put in motion by the refusal to back away from judicial tyranny.

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Key Point II - “Instantly Iconic”

… the photo itself is so iconic that none can deny that Trump’s major offense was humiliating a corrupt, entitled, and cowardly political class to the point that they’ve resorted to third world tactics to prevent his reemergence.

Do you know who screams “felon!” and refers to this particular mugshot as damning? People who hate Trump anyway, like John Bolton, the hosts of The View, which is nearly extinct, and the only significant left-trending demographic there is - single, college “educated” white women who have major daddy issues and would vote against George Washington as long as his opponent had a uterus.

Everyone else knew exactly what was going on, and the lapse of the United States into third-world status overcame ideological walls. The drive to arrest Trump and his associates for challenging an election more than 60% of Americans distrusted by 2023 vaporized the Never Trump movement and any hope they had of nominating anyone not named Trump. I’m not sure it can get more iconic than enshrining the mugshot on the wall of the entrance to the Oval Office:

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