Let’s begin this essay with another fable by Aesop:
The Mischievous Dog
There was once a Dog who used to snap at people and bite them without any provocation, and who was a great nuisance to every one who came to his master's house. So his master fastened a bell round his neck to warn people of his presence. The Dog was very proud of the bell, and strutted about tinkling it with immense satisfaction. But an old dog came up to him and said, "The fewer airs you give yourself the better, my friend. You don't think, do you, that your bell was given you as a reward of merit? “On the contrary, it is a badge of disgrace.” (Emphasis mine.)
Moral: Men often mistake notoriety for fame
(https://www.infoplease.com/primary-sources/fables-fairytales/aesops-fables/aesops-fables-217)
So Trump got his mugshot at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, along with 18 other co-defendants, most of them smiling, and like the mischievous dog in the above fable, they all think it’s a badge of honor.
It isn’t! For all of them, especially for Trump, it is a mark of shame, and it doesn’t matter how many people believe otherwise, and it doesn’t matter if his mugshot is put on T-shirts, coffee mugs, or posters, and commercialized, and one million people buy and wear this merchandise, it is still a mark of shame, and that is how it will be judged by history.
There is a proverb, “if one million people say a foolish thing, it’s still a foolish thing.” Take that into consideration. Also, for those who are spending their money on this T-shirts, etc., P.T. Barnum once said that “there’s a sucker born every minute.” (Of course, maybe all this Trump merchandise will someday become collector’s items.)
Trump’s mugshot has him looking miserable, angry, and defiant, and by now, his mugshot is now on the above mentioned T-shirts, coffee mugs, and posters, some with the words “He’s Innocent,” and people are wearing his shirts and displaying his posters with pride.
They are selling, and every Trump supporter will want one, maybe an entire set. Too bad the money will only go to Trump’s lawyers for his defense.
This is how different this is from the fable of The Mischievous Dog. In the fable, no one was impressed, and it was an older, and wiser dog that stated that the bell is not a badge of honor, but a badge of shame. In this case, it will take many older, wiser dogs, plus the loss of the next election, which I think will happen, for Trump to finally realize this. It is only then when people walk away in droves, when Trump loses, and is prosecuted, that Trump will be embarrassed.
Trump’s mugshot is nothing for him, or any other criminal, to be proud of, for it stands for all the criminal activity in which he participated. He violated the Constitution, obstructed justice, lied to the American people and the U.S. government, tried to overturn the election in Georgia, along with the rest of the U.S., even incited a coup:
This following is from Wikipedia:
Five people died (including a capitol police guard) during or following the event: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes. Many people were injured, including 138 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months.
All these deaths are attributed to Donald Trump. Does anyone care? This was so Trump could stay in power long after his term expired; and members of the House and Senate are willing to look the other way and return him to the White House? They even justified the January 16 coup, even when their own lives were at stake, and they are still willing to support him as he runs again for President.
Let’s not forget that Trump also stole secret documents and showed them to guests at his parties at Mar-a-Lago in order to impress them, at great risk to our national security.
That mugshot shows Trump for what he really is, a hardened criminal who got caught. He is booked and has to stand trial in Georgia and the federal government cannot do a thing to stop it.
This photo show Trump’s notoriety, his shame of breaking various laws and finally getting caught, and the consequences he will have to suffer.
What of the other defendants? Are they proud of their mugshots?
Any common criminal would feel humiliated when they have their mugshots taken. What’s even more humiliating is have one’s mugshot shown to the world.
Remember Manuel Noriega, onetime President of Panama? He was a dictator until the U.S. invaded Panama and took Noriega to a Florida prison. He had his mugshot taken and shown to the world, and he looked humiliated.
This mugshot of Trump may backfire. Only about one third of the Republican Party are hardcore Trump supporters. The rest are willing to vote for any of his opponents, even a Democratic one, i.e. Joe Biden. Also, don’t forget the Democrats, and the up and coming Generation Z voters who are anti-Trump.
These people will look at Trump’s mugshot and see the shame and disgrace in the photo, and will have the sense enough not to help reinstate this type of man, a criminal, back in the White House. They are willing to vote for the present incumbent.
Republican Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey and presidential candidate, stated in the first Republican debate, “I am not going to bow to anyone when we have a president of the United States who disrespects the Constitution.”
He was booed by the audience. No matter, he had the guts to state it and stand by it. These are the type of people we need. There is no room for cowardice.
In history, a presidential candidate, if he is nominated in more than one election, will not receive as many votes as he did in his first. Trump received seven million votes less than Joe Biden in Trump’s election campaign, and if he is nominated again, he will receive even lesser votes than that in 2024 because of his behavior.
As of the present moment, Trump, his co-defendants, and his followers may treat all this as a joke, but history will take it a lot seriously and will have a different verdict. Whatever Trumps fate may be, history will judge Trump for what he really is: a liar, a cheat, a thief, a President with the manners and morals of a spoiled child, and all this will be his place in history. He will be condemned as a disgrace, with no reconciliation.
History will judge Trump and his followers harshly, and he will never be forgiven.
This is what his mugshot really means!
Alastair Browne
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