Will Donald Trump Smile in His Mugshot? Don't Count on It

At 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Donald Trump will be led into a courtroom in New York's Supreme Court in Manhattan, where he will be formerly arraigned following the announcement of his indictment on Thursday.

At that point, the former president will be technically under arrest—though he is unlikely to be handcuffed. Officials will take his details and his fingerprints, before they take his mug shot. But the question remains: Will he be smiling in it?

Trump's indictment came following an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg into allegations of hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was allegedly paid $130,000 by Cohen to stay quiet about her alleged affair in 2006 with Trump. The lawyer has said he was reimbursed by Trump.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and has repeatedly claimed the investigation into him was politically motivated, noting Bragg's affiliation to the Democratic Party. The ex-president, who also denies having an affair with Daniels, has described the case as a "witch-hunt" and a "fake case."

The former president is expected to plead not guilty to the charges. Though these have not yet been made public—they will be unsealed and read aloud at the arraignment hearing—it is believed that they include at least one felony.

Since 2019, state law enforcement in New York has not released mug shots to the public, apart from when it is in the interest of public safety. So, even though a mug shot of Trump will be taken, it is unlikely to be released through official channels.

However, the image could be made available by a judge if challenged on a public records basis. It could get leaked given the unprecedented nature of the image—the first of a former president facing criminal charges—and the intense interest in the case.

This is something Trump's legal team are concerned about. Alina Habba, one of the former president's lawyers, told CNN on Monday that "I do have a problem with [the] leaking of pictures, because we're in a campaign, because he's the leading GOP candidate. It's not going to help anything."

Habba said that a mugshot did not need to be taken in her client's case at all. "I don't see a purpose in it," she told the news network. "Mugshots are for people so that you recognize who they are. He is the most recognized face in the world—let alone the country—right now, so there's no need for that, no need for the theatrics."

Trump allies have stressed his innocence, reiterating Trump's claims that the case against him is politically motivated. They have suggested that he smile for the camera, under the assumption that the image will end up becoming ubiquitous. This is especially the case as the country moves towards the 2024 presidential election, of which Trump is the frontrunner in the Republican primary.

"I hope to God that President Donald J. Trump smiles pretty for that picture," Marjorie Taylor Greene, a GOP representative for Georgia, who appeared alongside Trump at a recent rally of his in Waco, Texas, said on March 31. "Because they're going to use it in all their campaign ads, so I want my president to look good."

"President Trump should smile for his mugshot," Brigitte Gabriel, a conservative author who visited his White House in 2017, tweeted on Monday. "It will make a great t-shirt for his campaign to sell."

While the case is likely to have a significant bearing on the 2024 presidential election and Trump's campaign, early signs suggest that it has so far improved his political prospects.

Early polling shows he has seen a rise in support among Republican voters in the presidential primaries since being charged. His campaign said on Friday that it had raised $4 million in the 24 hours since the indictment was announced.

However, whether Trump will smile in his police portrait is something that not many people are betting on. On cryptocurrency betting site Polymarket, as of 4:50 a.m. ET on Tuesday, shares in "no" are trading at 83 cents to 18 cents for "yes," with nearly $20,000 invested in the former and just over $2,800 in the latter.

In fact, the last time the two were trading level was March 31, the day after the indictment was announced.

Gamblers can buy "yes" outcome shares for 29 cents to 94 cents for "no" outcome shares. As such, according to the odds at the time of writing, if Trump were to smile in his mugshot, someone who bet affirmatively would get a 245 percent return.

Newsweek emailed Trump's campaign for comment on Tuesday.