Missing the debate, milking his mugshot – all part of Trump’s efforts to stay in the spotlight, say analysts

A confident Donald Trump skipped the Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday (Aug 23), and turned himself in at an Atlanta jail the next day – a move analysts said is intentional to put himself in the spotlight.

Despite his mounting legal troubles, the former United States president remains the frontrunner for the Republican ticket in the 2024 White House race, making him “still in charge” in the GOP camp, observers said on Friday.

Political observer Miles Coleman from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics said Trump had waited until the last minute – he had to report to the jail by Friday afternoon or face possible arrest – before turning himself in.

The timing was not a coincidence as the news of his booking would overshadow how other Republican contenders performed during the debate, Coleman said.

“Of course he waits until after the debate (to turn himself in), so he can suck up some of the headlines. This just shows how good Trump is – essentially a showman – basically getting as much mileage as he can with these types of things,” he told CNA938’s Asia First.

“The big story in the Republican primaries is still him. Trump is very much still in charge when it comes to the Republican primaries.”

MILKING HIS MUGSHOT

Trump was booked at the Fulton County Jail on charges that he illegally schemed to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.

The county’s Sheriff's Office later released Trump’s mugshot, the first ever taken of a former US president.

Shortly after, Trump posted the image on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, with the words: "ELECTION INTERFERENCE! NEVER SURRENDER!"

It was his first post since January 2021, when Twitter suspended his account, citing fears of further incitement of violence following the storming of the US Capitol building.

Professor Emeritus Charles Lipson of the University of Chicago’s political science department told CNA’s Asia First that Trump is expected to exploit the mugshot to his advantage. 

This is because many Republican supporters already believe that federal criminal charges against Trump are politically-motivated, he added.

SUPPORTERS BELIEVE TRUMP IS A VICTIM

“A lot of Republicans feel that some of these charges are just outrageous. They think that he is being prosecuted for things that other people did, or for very thin reasons,” Lipson said

“When the first charge was filed in New York, which seemed to be a particularly thin charge, his popularity shot up. It didn't look like a fair and even-handed justice and that helped Trump,” he said, referring to charges related to a hush-money payment to an adult-film star.

Trump rode that momentum and doubled down on the narrative with every indictment that he is a victim of political persecution.

“Trump also transformed the electorate of the Republican party into much more of a working class party with a lot of opposition to the centralised state in Washington,” Lipson added.

“The fact that he is being prosecuted by precisely that state, looks as if it ratifies so many of the things that he said negatively about the current US government.”

BULLETPROOF FRONTRUNNER?

Despite Trump’s notable absence at the first Republican debate, where eight presidential hopefuls took the stage in heated exchanges, the former president remains the top choice for registered Republican voters.

Recent polls have shown that his support actually grew despite the indictments, with a more-than-comfortable 20-point lead over his closest rival, Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

While Trump may still be riding high on popularity, Lipson said continued legal troubles may prompt some supporters to start examining the cases, or may cause fatigue set in.

“It's uncertain whether voters will slowly take into account all of these mounting legal troubles,” he said. 

“Over time, these (charges) may take a toll on Trump, both personally and politically, as voters begin to assess whether some of the charges are actually true.”