Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has claimed that the mug shot of former President Donald Trump was staged so he looked like a “thug.”
On Thursday on an edition of CNN’s “The Source,” Anchor Kaitlan Collins said, “I just wonder, as someone who worked inside the West Wing when Donald Trump was president, what is it like for you to see his mug shot tonight?”
Bolton said:
“I thought it was carefully staged. They must have thought about what look they wanted,” Bolton said of the Trump mug shot.
“He could have smiled. He could have looked benign,” Bolton added.
“Instead, he looks like a thug. I think it’s intended to be a sign of intimidation against the prosecutors and judges. That’s what they picked, and we’ll see that picture everywhere.”
Collins said:
“So, you think they actually spent time deciding, you know, should he smile in this? Should he have this scowl that he appears to have gone with?”
Bolton responded:
“Almost as much time as they spent combing his hair.”
Collins said:
He posted the mug shot, you know, shortly after on his own social media account, along with the phrase, never surrender.”
“I mean, a bit ironic, given he had just surrendered at the Fulton County Jail behind me. But how do you expect him to try to use this to his political advantage, as he’s running for president?”
Bolton said:
“Well, I think in the same way he’s used the other three indictments. I think the evidence is that the indictments have proven the law of diminishing margin of utility.”
“If anything, they’re not undercutting his support. They’re building it up.”
Trump uploaded his Fulton County mugshot to X, formally known as Twitter, marking the first post on the platform since he was banned in 2021.
Trump posted a photo of his mugshot along with a link to his website, with the following caption:
MUG SHOT – AUGUST 24, 2023
ELECTION INTERFERENCE
NEVER SURRENDER!
READ: John Bolton Says He Will Run for President in 2024 to “Stop Trump”
DA Willis will build on the ‘stache man’s claim and ask the judge to revoke Trump’s bail for witness intimidation.