Former US President Donald Trump has asserted that he has garnered increased support from Black and Hispanic voters since his mugshot was taken last summer. Trump made this claim during a “Barber Shop Roundtable” voter event on Wednesday, hosted by former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson and GOP Representative Byron Donalds. Trump, who participated via a call, is also gearing up for the first presidential debate of the year.
“Since [the mugshot] happened, the support among the Black community and the Hispanic community has skyrocketed,” Trump said.”It has been amazing, really been amazing.”
Trump praised his mugshot, taken in August at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia, where he was processed on racketeering charges related to an alleged plot to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. “The mug shot is the best,” he said. “It just beat Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra by a lot, by the way. Beat it by a lot. But it’s the number one mug shot of all time — it’s really an amazing thing.”
This claim comes after Trump faced backlash in February for a similar remark suggesting Black voters liked him more because of his mugshot. “I got indicted for nothing. They were doing it because it’s election interference. And then I got indicted a second time, a third time, and a fourth time,” Trump stated. “And a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. And they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing.”
MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart criticized Trump’s comments, labeling them “unbelievably racist.” Capehart urged viewers to share the clips with Trump supporters to highlight the problematic nature of the statements.
Additionally, Trump falsely claimed he was tortured at the Fulton County Jail last year. “They tortured me in the Fulton County Jail, and TOOK MY MUGSHOT,” he wrote in a campaign email. Leveraging the situation for fundraising, Trump is now selling coffee cups bearing the mugshot, available for a suggested donation of $47 or $100, a nod to his ambition of becoming America’s 47th president this November. Trump’s campaign reportedly raised $10 million from the image in September.
“Since [the mugshot] happened, the support among the Black community and the Hispanic community has skyrocketed,” Trump said.”It has been amazing, really been amazing.”
Trump praised his mugshot, taken in August at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia, where he was processed on racketeering charges related to an alleged plot to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. “The mug shot is the best,” he said. “It just beat Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra by a lot, by the way. Beat it by a lot. But it’s the number one mug shot of all time — it’s really an amazing thing.”
This claim comes after Trump faced backlash in February for a similar remark suggesting Black voters liked him more because of his mugshot. “I got indicted for nothing. They were doing it because it’s election interference. And then I got indicted a second time, a third time, and a fourth time,” Trump stated. “And a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. And they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing.”
MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart criticized Trump’s comments, labeling them “unbelievably racist.” Capehart urged viewers to share the clips with Trump supporters to highlight the problematic nature of the statements.
Additionally, Trump falsely claimed he was tortured at the Fulton County Jail last year. “They tortured me in the Fulton County Jail, and TOOK MY MUGSHOT,” he wrote in a campaign email. Leveraging the situation for fundraising, Trump is now selling coffee cups bearing the mugshot, available for a suggested donation of $47 or $100, a nod to his ambition of becoming America’s 47th president this November. Trump’s campaign reportedly raised $10 million from the image in September.
