Donald Trump's mugshot goes hand in hand with his recent promises of revenge, a presidential historian said on Friday.
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss appeared on MSNBC's Chris Jansing Reports on Friday, where he was asked about comments made by a former Trump administration official who said Trump's mugshot was "carefully staged." John Bolton also said it was "intended to be a sign of intimidation against the prosecutors and judges."
Beschloss said he agreed with Bolton, and added that "Trump does not do things like this by accident."
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"I would bet that he has been spending a lot of time in front of a mirror. Maybe even on that plane that flew down from Newark to Atlanta before he went to Fulton County jail," he said, noting that "everything is for a purpose."
"He felt that this look on his face would help him raise money. It makes him look beleaguered and angry, and a tough guy. This is a guy who has said in recent months to his crowds, I am your retribution. Who has said on social media, you come after me, I will come after you. This all goes together. So, if Trump is trying to intimidate, you know, a judge or a district attorney or members of the grand jury or others or politicians who might ply way from his support, the best way, just given the way his mind works is for them to be scared of him, and particularly scared of the possibility that he might get elected president late next year."
