When former President Donald J. Trump was arraigned yesterday, April 4 – two weeks after Trump alleged indictment would happen – and pleaded not guilty to 43 counts of falsifying business documents, no cameras were allowed to film or photograph the proceedings. While the press organs are generally unable to broadcast from inside a courtroom, multiple outlets had asked a Manhattan state court to make an exception given the historic nature of the case. This request was refused: the media were authorized to record before and after the procedurebut had to leave once the arraignment began.
Only courtroom artists were able to capture the former president’s room and expression during those 48 minutes. Despite having limited sources to work with, Twitter users still went to town to imagine their scenarios of Trump in the courtroom or in a holding cell, mocking Trump’s expressions and comparing his behavior to characters from Dominar Rygel XVIthe fallen ruler of the early sci-fi series Farscapeto Jim Carrey’s performance of the Grumpy.
Some are directly inspired by The fantastic sketch of the courtroom by portrait painter Jane Rosenbergplacing the former president’s likeness in Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” (1893) or add a bucket of fried chicken from KFC. An user Tweeted that Rosenberg’s sketch channeled the same energy as Siegfried Woldhek’s 2019 pen drawing of Trump, “Stable Genius”. Meanwhile, London-based artist Chris Barker took the 2016 protest cry “Dump Trump” at face value, showing the first US president being charged on a toilet.
Journalist Sean Brown posted a meme placing Trump in an episode of the animated series Scooby-Doo, where are you?. Here, Fred reveals the linked former president as the ghost that has haunted the past two presidential campaigns. (The jury is out on whether the president would have been the ghost clown, phantom virusor the sucker.) A speech bubble plays over what is arguably the cartoon’s most famous quote: “And I would’ve gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for you kidding around!”
Many people, including Trump himself, have fantasized about what a presidential photo might look like and the spectacle it would generate. As the New York Police Department took Trump’s fingerprints, no booking photo exists. That didn’t stop the Trump campaign from creating a faux pas sell t-shirts and other merchandise — which Twitter user Bill B reimagined with a less dignified tone.
While Trump’s indictment seems like years to go by for some, it may also seem like mere dessert for those who have been the recipients of Trump’s tirades, including the Five exonerated and former presidential candidate and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam issued a press release on March 30 with only the word “Karmaand made a advertisement mimicking the full-page ad the former president printed in the New York Times who demanded the death penalty against them.
Others imagined scenes with Trump and his allies behind bars. A Twitter user portrayed an image of the former secretary of state visiting Trump while he was in prisonwhile another job refers to adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels.
Feast on more of the best Trump memes of the week below!
