Suspect PO1135809 didn’t stay long. He spent 20 minutes in Georgia’s Fulton County jail – long enough to be booked, weighed (215 lbs) and measured (6’3”) and to scowl at the camera. Then his motorcade returned him to his jet, and his jet to his New Jersey golf club. There are two points to note about Trump’s surrender to authorities yesterday following his fourth criminal indictment in five months. One is that when his ally Jim Jordan says Georgia’s requested Trump trial date of 4 March next year, the day before Super Tuesday, “raises concerns” that the indictment is designed to interfere with the 2024 presidential election, he has a point. The concerns may be unfounded or at least subordinate to the requirements of justice, but for many Americans they are real. Second, for a debut mugshot poseur, Trump gives good scowl. He is now free on a $200,000 bond to fundraise and campaign, polling 37 points ahead of his closest rival for his party’s presidential nomination.
Photograph Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images