NEWSWEEK
Donald Trump having his mugshot released after his arrest on Thursday was “probably one of the best things that ever happened to him,” according to one of his legal representatives.
The comment was made on conservative news outlet Newsmax by Alina Habba, who as well as representing the former president, works as a senior adviser to the pro-Trump Super PAC MAGA Inc.
Trump was arrested for the fourth time over allegations be broke the law while attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in Georgia. He has been indicted on 13 counts, but denies any wrongdoing and has described the case against him as “election interference” and a “witch hunt” on his Truth Social website.
In Georgia, Trump had his mugshot taken, which was later released by authorities and widely shared by his supporters and critics alike.
On Friday, Habba made several appearances on Newsmax, during which she insisted the mugshot had boosted the former president’s 2024 presidential campaign. She commented: “People aren’t stupid. The mugshot was one of the best things that ever happened to him, probably.”
A 9-second clip of the remark was shared on X, formerly Twitter, by the Acyn account which posts footage of prominent events in U.S. politics, where it racked up more than 230,000 views.
During a separate Newsmax appearance on Friday Habba explained why she is convinced the latest indictment will help Trump’s campaign.
She commented: “I have spoken to President Trump, yes, he is doing fantastically and happy to put yesterday behind him, but quite honestly looking at his numbers, I mean just his one post on Twitter, what happened on Tucker (Carlson), it’s been a tremendous week for him.
“It shows his strength and resilience and you really can’t ignore it at this point. The more they hit him, he just comes back up stronger.”
After his arrest on Thursday, Trump shared his booking photo on X, the first time he had used the platform since he was banned in the aftermath of the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021, by hundreds of his supporters.
The Republican frontrunner wrote “election interference” and “never surrender!” and included a link to where supporters could donate to his campaign. The post has received more than 1.5 million likes, and has been viewed over 228 million times.
On Wednesday, Trump chose not to attend the first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was instead interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a video that was released on X where it received more than 100 million views in just four hours. However, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro described the interview as “propaganda” and a “45-minute softball for Trump.”
Trump is also facing charges over claims he orchestrated the payment of hush money to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election, mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House and acted illegally in trying to reverse Joe Biden‘s 2020 election win on a nationwide basis. He has pled not guilty to all counts, and insists the allegations against him are politically motivated.
