Donald Trump, Jr, said he doesn’t “feel right” about people making money off his father’s Georgia mug shot, even as the Trump campaign has raised millions since the former president’s latest indictment.
“I don’t feel right about profiting from it. I guess other people have made very good livings doing the MAGA merch, even if none of the money goes towards the campaign or the cause,” the former president’s eldest son said during a recent episode of his web show Triggered.
“I can’t do that. I wouldn’t feel right doing it,” he added. “I’d probably actually get killed in the press doing it, thinking about that now.”
After making his comments, the former president’s son directed viewers to donate to Mr Trump’s legal defence fund.
The Trump campaign has reportedly raised more than $7m in merch sales, donations, and other funding since Mr Trump was indicted in Georgia earlier this month for allegedly conspiring to subvert the 2020 election.
After being booked in Fulton County, Donald Trump’s mugshot instantly made waves, inspiring jokes, knock-offs, and historical reflection about his status as the first former president to face criminal charges.
Joe Biden, when asked about the historic image, commented mockingly, “Handsome guy...wonderful guy.”
Donald Trump’s Fulton County mug shot— (AFP)
Meanwhile, others, like the rock band Green Day, have made imitation versions.
The band printed t-shirts riffing off their 1997 album Nimrod, but with the album’s text over a picture of Mr Trump’s mug shot, selling the merch to raise money for victims of the Maui wildfires.
Mr Trump’s legal troubles haven’t put much of a dent in his ironclad fundraising operation.
In July, the campaign reported a $34m haul, topping the Republican presidential primary field.
Some of the funds raised for the campaign have been diverted to a Trump-affiliated political action committee funding his legal defence.
His businesses, meanwhile, haven’t always kept up.
The former president made less than $200 from his social media platform Truth Social, according to a recent FEC disclosure.
As The Independent has reported, the former president often rakes in millions in fundraising within hours of each of his indictments.
After he was hit with charges in New York earlier this year related to hush money payments during the 2016 campaign, Mr Trump raised more than $4m in 24 hours, a figure that jumped to $7m within three days.
