Liberals, media erupt over viral Trump mugshot: 'Sinister apparition'

Media outlets and liberal journalists had strong reactions to seeing former President Donald Trump’s mugshot Thursday night, with some proclaiming the image is a "sinister apparition," a "threat," and a sign that has galvanized his supporters even more.

Others chose to mock Trump over the picture, asking if he had been "crying." One mentioned the irony of Trump trying to appear defiant, though he was the one who surrendered to the Fulton County, Georgia, authorities.

Where Trump supporters saw an image of a persecuted man wrongfully indicted on corrupt charges brought by Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, liberal media folks saw an angry, scowling man vowing to wreak more havoc on American democracy.

Liberal outlet The Atlantic published several articles describing Trump’s expression in his mugshot as "extremely serious" and indicative of a "threat" to his political opponents. 

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MSNBC host Joy Reid claimed that the mugshot of former President Donald Trump looked like a "sinister apparition." (Fox News)

The first piece from the outlet, titled, "The Mug Shot Is a Warning," likened Trump’s glaring expression to the Greek mythological villain Medusa, who would turn men to stone if they made eye-contact with her.

It stated, "Athena punished Medusa by turning her hair into a writhing tangle of serpents, and then by ensuring that anyone who looked into Medusa’s eyes would be turned to stone. In shaping their story of a gaze made violent, the creators of that early democracy were prescient about the man who has tried to destroy ours."

The article proclaimed, "Donald Trump’s head may be covered in spray rather than snakes, but he is a Medusa all the same, reconfigured for the age of mass media: Once you look at him, your fate is already sealed."

Describing the image in detail, the piece stated, "In the portrait—it is a portrait, in the end—Trump glares directly into the camera. He seethes. He glowers. He turns in a studied performance. Photos like this are typically exercises in enforced humility. Trump’s is a display of ongoing power. He treats his mug shot as our menace."

The other Atlantic article described Trump’s expression as "extremely serious" and noted it offered his opponents no "vulnerability" to revel in.

The piece stated, "Trump’s photo offers a rough visage, formidable and extremely serious—which is what I assume he was going for. He made an effort here. It paid off. He gave his haters nothing in the ballpark of vulnerability."

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Attaching more malevolence to the image, on Thursday MSNBC host Joy Reid commented that the image was a "sinister apparition."

She declared, "He’s sort of the avatar for the rage that he has traded off of to become president in the first place. That is not the sort of funny reality show star that Americans elected in 2016. That is a sinister apparition I’m seeing in front of me."

Former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump's mugshot from Fulton County jail was shared online Thursday, August 24, 2023. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

On CNN Friday morning, Atlanta-Journal-Constitution political reporter Patricia Murphy said that Trump’s mugshot "has galvanized his supporters even further." She added, "That’s going to be a huge problem if he makes it to a general campaign. But so far right now, his base is sticking with him more than they ever have."

On Friday, "The Guardian" posted a lengthy review of Trump's viral mugshot, claiming it looked "more like a foolish old man with anger issues than a presidential candidate."

"Has he been crying? Did they dim the lights? Is it self-satire?" writer Stuart Jeffries asked. "A glance at past celebrity mugshots – from Martin Luther King to Paris Hilton – would have shown the ex-U.S. president how to pose with dignity."

The piece spent ample time dissecting the now infamous photo, comparing Trump's gaze to that of Stalin in 1911 when the Tsarists police arrested him. "The Guardian" also compared the image to the mugshots of Pablo Escobar and Al Capone.

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"Is it possible they brokered a deal with the sheriff to change the wattage of the overhead lightbulb to make it less harsh? Boldly leaning forward so we can study his thatch, and see where toupee ends and pate begins, it's a performance that perhaps, like his hairpiece, is poised to become unstuck," Jeffries said. "The red-rimmed eyes suggest tiredness. Perhaps – let me dream – he's been crying over his comeuppance."

On CNN, "The Source" host Kaitlan Collins asked former Trump national security adviser John Bolton whether the former president spent time before his mugshot perfecting his facial expression and pose.

"Almost as much time as they spent combing his hair," Bolton replied.

Collins then said she found it "a bit ironic" that Trump had posted the mugshot alongside the caption "Never surrender," considering he had "actually just surrendered" at the Fulton County Jail.

Journalist Dan Rather on Thursday said the "menacing" and "foreboding" image "speaks to a future that is, as of now, unpredictable."

Liberal advocate and journalist Ty Ross voiced similar displeasure at the mugshot.

"Looking at Trump's mugshot made me realize just how over him I am," she tweeted. "I wanted to be happier than I actually was. In fact, it just made me sad. Sad that this awful man has profoundly impacted us, democracy, the fabric of humanity, and the world. How, and why we have allowed that cancer to metastasize..."

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Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.