Our tabloid president gets his mugshot
Plus: Mike Pence’s merch pays tribute to vintage Republican design
Hello, for those who are new here, I’m Hunter, and for repeat readers, it’s nice to see you again.
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I spent my summer with friends, family, and loved ones; spoke to Eric Wilson at “The Business of Politics Show” about 2024 campaign branding (you can listen here); was among the 200,000 people estimated to have purchased tickets to see the Barbenheimer double feature opening weekend; read “Tippecanoe and Trinkets Too,” the first scholarly history of U.S. presidential election memorabilia; and had one of the most powerful and intense experiences a red-blooded American man can have with a typeface: seeing “United States of America” written in Caslon across Air Force One.
How was your summer? Reply with your favorite selfies, stories, and/or beach reads.
In this issue we’ll look at:
Our tabloid president gets his mugshot
The Smithsonian is adding to its collection of artifacts from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack
Mike Pence’s merch pays tribute to vintage Republican design
Scroll to the end to see: the new Space Force grim reaper patch
Our tabloid president gets his mugshot
Fun fact: the mugshot was invented in France years after an insurrection.
Following the 1871 Commune of Paris, French police captured photos of about 40,000 suspected revolutionaries. It was part of a growing trend of law enforcement using photography, and the technology would transform the public’s relationship with crime thanks in large part to Paris police criminologist Alphonse Bertillon, who popularized a style of crime scene photography and in 1888 standardized the mugshot — front-view and side-view photos from a specific POV.
Originally meant as a tool to identify criminals, mugshots would be reprinted in newspapers. The form was, at least until Aug. 24, 2023, most popularly known in the U.S. for portraiture of arrested rappers and McBling Era starlets who drove under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In other words, celebs behaving badly.
At a minimum, the former host of “The Celebrity Apprentice” being indicted on 13 felony counts connected to his attempt to overthrow the 2020 election would count as a celebrity behaving badly. But while Lindsay Lohan’s mugshots won’t be featured in your grandchildren’s U.S. history textbooks, former President Donald Trump’s, a front-view only shot that’s famously the first ever of a former U.S. president, will be. David Hume Kennerly, a photographer, predicted “it will be the most published photograph ever taken, no doubt.”
The historic nature of Trump’s photo elevated it automatically to artifacts like Alexander Gardner’s Lincoln and Nixon throwing up peace signs at Marine One, but viewing it alongside mugshots of Lohan, Hilton, or Richie is equally informative. Trump is, after all, their contemporary, building his national profile in the 2000s on reality TV alongside the stars of “The Simple Life” and “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
Trump’s mugshot certainly isn’t flattering, but these photos rarely are. And while some will see the image as “menacing, foreboding,” as Dan Rather said, others view it differently. “Unfortunately, he nailed it,” artist Sam McKinniss told the New Yorker, calling it “perfect propaganda” and comparing it to Henri Fantin-Latour’s self portrait in the National Gallery; “Like if Sam the Eagle got sent to his room,” staff writer Sarah Larson said.
In the tradition of celebrity mugshots, Trump’s is, at least for his supporters, a portrait of toughness and a symbol in a hoped-for future redemption narrative arc. His campaign said it’s sold 36,000 mugshot t-shirts, 24,000 mugshot coffee mugs, 8,600 mugshot posters, and raised more than $9.4 million since the mugshot was released, according to Fox News.
Trump plead not guilty on Thursday.
The Smithsonian is adding to its collection of artifacts from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History announced it acquired new artifacts for its collection documenting the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Among the donations are:
Personal items from three officers who defended the Capitol, including a rosary blessed by the Pope and given to U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Harry Dunn by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Photos taken inside the building and on the grounds that day by National Geographic photographer Louie Palu
One of the four Congressional Gold Medals given to officers
A numbered copy of the Tally Sheet from the Clerk of the House from Jan. 6.
The museum’s collection already includes a black protective vest worn by freelance photographer Madeleine Kelly that was slashed by a knife, law-enforcement lapel pins and patches, and discarded items from the National Mall the day after the attack gathered under the Smithsonian’s rapid-response protocol (cc: Lady Gaga), including signs, posters, flags, and a whip and a wooden pole used as weapons.
“As the nation’s flagship history museum, our staff is continuing to document and, most importantly, preserve this history for future generations to understand how the events of that day unfolded and to track their ongoing impacts,” director Elizabeth MacMillan said in a statement.
Mike Pence’s merch pays tribute to vintage Republican design
Former Vice President Mike Pence’s logo is giving Reagan, and his campaign is now selling merchandise that references Eisenhower and Ford.
The Pence campaign store plays off Dwight Eisenhower’s “I Like Ike” slogan with “I Like Mike” items, including a $54 hoodie, $40 golf gift set, $27 two-tone navy mesh trucker hat, $25 t-shirt, and $15 set of two beverage coolers.
Some show a Wall Street Journal-esque portrait of Pence and others use a red and blue square “I Like Mike” logo, a visual reference to Gerald Ford’s 1976 campaign logo.
The items fit Pence’s overall vintage-inspired visual identity, but not everything’s throwback. Last month the shop started selling $30 “Too Honest” shirts and $37 hats, from Trump telling Pence “you’re too honest” for refusing to overturn the election, according to his indictment.
Have you seen this?
Cactus Plant Flea Market has teamed up with pricey L.A. grocer Erewon for a capsule collection. The collection includes the $130 core melt smooooothie longsleeve thermal (below) and totes starting at $105. [Hypebeast]
These 10 airports get more foot traffic than most museums. But which ones have the best art? Shoutout to Gordon Huether’s “The Falls” (2020) and “The Canyon (2020) at Salt Lake City International Airport. What’s your favorite airport art? [Artnet News]
Look at these 407 Donald Trump mugshot edits. These will be NFTs one day, I can feel it.
This NASA-backed robot is the droid coworker you’ve been dreaming of. The robot Apollo is designed with a hollow head designed to convey it “isn’t a thinking entity in the way humans are.” [Fast Company]
The squadron patch for the first U.S. Space Force unit dedicated to targeting adversary satellites has a grim reaper. Wtf, I want to join Space Force. The 75th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron was activated last month at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, and their patch shows a grim reaper with a delta for a nose. Rock on, space cadets. 🤘☠️ [Space]
First attack ad with Trump’s mug shot hits the airwaves. The super PAC backing Chris Christie is launching the spot as part of a statewide ad buy in New Hampshire. [NBC News]
History of political design:
“Wanted” (1973) by Philip Lief and Marcel Feigel. This mock FBI poster shows 20 “wanted” men connected to the Watergate scandal with only then-President Richard Nixon not marked as “apprehended.” The poster was released by the group the Committee to de-elect the President the year before Nixon resigned.
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