Former President Trump’s return to X on Thursday to share his mug shot photo had a predictable blazing effect on the social media site, and a media expert says it’s a potential coup for owner Elon Musk.
For the first time in more than two-and-a-half years, Trump shared a post on the site formerly known as Twitter, simply linking to his website and sharing the photo of his Fulton County, Ga., mug shot with the caption, “ELECTION INTERFERENCE / NEVER SURRENDER!”
As of Friday morning, it had been reposted more than 330,000 times and counting, and had 120 million impressions.
District Media Group president Beverly Hallberg, a media coach and messaging expert, said it was “the best thing” that could happen for X since Musk took it over. Trump had previously said he wouldn’t return to the site, and it’s unclear if he’s going to keep posting on it, given his financial stake in his own tech company Truth Social.
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“The best thing that could happen to X is for Donald Trump to return, and I’m sure Elon Musk has been angling for it,” Hallberg told Fox News Digital. “Not only would he increase engagement due to the likely volume of tweets, but it would also bring back liberals who left due to Musk taking over. Trump boosts TV ratings and Trump increases social media analytics.”
Fox News contributor Joe Concha noted Trump has nearly 90 million followers on X, far more than he has on Truth Social.
“The company is hemorrhaging money and is by any objective account a failed endeavor because it’s a predictable echo chamber for the right,” he told Fox News Digital. “If Trump wants to win the general, he’ll ultimately need X to reach voters outside of his core base.”
Musk, who reinstated Trump’s previously banned account in November after he bought the site, reacted to Trump’s mug shot with just “Next-level.”
“Well, he’s back,” OutKick wrote simply.
“Whatever else he is, Trump is a PR savant,” one user wrote.
In addition to the mug shot itself – a first in American history – Trump’s X posting was international news given how closely associated he was with the platform when it was known as Twitter. Trump was kicked off Twitter shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot on accusations that he would use his account to incite violence.
“The platform was Trump’s primary communication tool when he was running for president and while in office — so much so that some of the posts have been the subject of his legal troubles,” Axios reported.
Donald Trump mug shot (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
Social media exploded with memes of his mug shot, with ardent supporters calling it an iconic symbol of him taking on a corrupt system and his foes calling it more comeuppance for his criminal activity.
Trump is already making hay out of the mug shot as a fundraiser, selling shirts and other paraphernalia with his image from the shot.
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It remains to be seen, however, whether Trump truly returns to the platform and becomes a regular poster on the site again. He mostly shares his thoughts these days on Truth Social, the social media platform he founded in 2021.
The former president and current 2024 Republican front-runner turned himself in Thursday night at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Ga. after being charged out of District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.
Trump, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital Thursday night, said officials in Georgia “insisted” on a mug shot.
Elon Musk would be delighted with Donald Trump permanently returning to X, the site formerly known as Twitter, a media expert says. (Justin Sullivan)
“They insisted on a mug shot and I agreed to do that,” he said. “This is the only time I’ve ever taken a mug shot.”
He added: “It is not a comfortable feeling—especially when you’ve done nothing wrong.”
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Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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