President Biden reacted to Donald Trump’s mug shot on Friday, calling the former president a “handsome guy.”
Trump surrendered to authorities in Fulton County, Ga., on Thursday on felony charges related to his and his allies’ alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the Peach State.
Asked about the mug shot while leaving a Pilates studio during his vacation in Lake Tahoe, Calif., Biden said: “I did see it on television. Handsome guy. Wonderful guy.”
President Biden on Former President Trump's mugshot: "Handsome guy. Wonderful guy." pic.twitter.com/xbsuStN2Z0
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 25, 2023
While Thursday’s arrest was Trump’s fourth in four months, he had not previously had a mug shot taken. The former president is facing 13 felony charges, including conspiracy to commit forgery, filing false documents, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, and violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
“They insisted on a mug shot, and I agreed to do that,” Trump told Fox News. “This is the only time I’ve ever taken a mug shot.”
Trump returned to the social-media platform X on Thursday night with an image of his mug shot captioned: “ELECTION INTERFERENCE. NEVER SURRENDER!” Trump hadn’t posted to the platform, which was formerly known as Twitter, since January 8, 2021, when he was banned over his postings about the Capitol riot. In November 2022, Elon Musk chose to reverse the indefinite suspension after taking control of the platform.
https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/Mcbf2xozsY
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2023
Biden, meanwhile, also told reporters that he “didn’t have an interest or inclination” to watch Trump’s interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which aired on X at the same time as the first Republican-primary debate on Wednesday.
The president went on to criticize the candidates who did participate in the debate in Milwaukee: “I don’t remember them speaking to any of the issues. There was a lot of talk.
“But what are they going to do to deal with economic growth? What are they going to do to deal with the notion that maintaining the job pace that we have now? What are they going to do to deal with education?” he asked.