Trump's mugshot is a masterclass in capitalizing on one's supervillain era

• Donald Trump's mugshot has dropped.
• Some politicians smile in their mugshots, but not Trump.
• And love him or hate him, this mugshot is going to become an iconic picture for the history books.

In former President Donald Trump's halcyon days, he was no stranger to sitting for photoshoots for magazine covers and book jackets. But I don't suppose a young Trump, in the best of times, ever thought that being a practiced subject of photos and glamour shots would come in handy for a mugshot.

That said, Trump clearly got the art of the photo down to a science in his mugshot, snapped while he was being booked on Thursday. Trump and 18 co-defendants face criminal charges in a massive RICO case and are accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. And they've all had to take mugshots when surrendering to the authorities.

The man of the hour did not disappoint. His hair, in its signature comb over, was neatly done in an artful pouf. The refreshed, orange tan of his skin popped against the drab gray walls of the jail. And he wore a blue suit with a white shirt and a red tie, perhaps predicting that this photo might be used on flag-themed campaign merch.

Then, one has to note his expression. Some politicians smile in their mugshots, but not Trump. In this photograph, he stared down the camera defiantly, brow furrowed, eyebrows impressively arched, jaw set firmly in a scowl. His chin was tilted downwards, too, in a time-tested tactic to disappear double chins and make one's face appear smaller, known to IG baddies, Korean pop stars, and, I guess, Trump. 

That said, Trump's post to Truth Social and X after his mugshot dropped was a disappointing way for one to debut their supervillain era, given the care and planning that presumably went into the taking of the photo. C'mon, man — Serif font in all caps? On a white background? Graphic design is clearly not his passion.  

This was also the former president's first post on the Musk-owned X — the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — after he got banned post-Capitol riot — so, that's something. 

Either way, now that the former president's been booked, he has a lot more on his plate to worry about than getting someone to fire up Canva for him. He faces a brimming docket of legal woes — including 91 criminal counts across four sprawling investigations.