Trump Has Gone Full Wrestling Heel as His Mugshot is Hanging Right Outside the Entrance to the Oval Office

I'm nothing if not fascinated by the period of history we're currently living through. Every day you wake up, go online, and find something more surreal than the day before. And most of it is wildly entertaining if you're able to step back and look at everything from a 100-year perspective and not get too hung up on your own ideology. Like Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen put on Joe Rogan's show a few months ago, when that sniper round grazed Donald Trump's ear instead of going through his skull, the timeline split. And the reality we find ourselves is filled with stories about a sitting President banning pennies from a private suite at the Super Bowl, changing a major body of water to the Gulf of America with the stroke of a pen, releasing all the files on the assassinations of the 1960s, and the greatest champion in MMA history breaking out into the YMCA dance after winning the title fight:

Sure, there are other things going on. Not all of them popular with everyone. That's democracy for you. The way it's meant to be. A fantastic mess of disagreements and competing ideologies. I'm here for all of it. 

I just don't see how you can look close at the photo in that X post above and not respect the move on display here. 

Zoom in. Now enhance ...

Zoom in. Enhance …

What an unbelievable power move. Trump as Troll-in-Chief. Taking New York Post cover of the mugshot that was supposed to destroy his chances to get back into the White House, and putting it on the wall outside the Oval Office for every cabinet member, VIP, or visiting foreign dignitary to see. In an ornate gold frame like it's a painting of Washington's Farewell Address or a photo of Teddy Roosevelt on his horse.  

Advertisement

Again, say what you will about Trump. Everyone does. He's been the most defined human being on Earth for the last 10 years or more. There's no one who doesn't have a fully-formed opinion of him. But whatever your leanings, you have to appreciate just how endlessly entertaining the man is. 

I said the day of his Inauguration that it was exactly what you'd expect from a former Reality TV host:

This mugshot on display right outside the executive office of the world's foremost super power is pure showmanship. He's got a comedian's brain and is willing to turn anything into a bit, even his own arrest. The sort of thing you'd expect from the guy who out-heeled the WWE's Chief Executive Heel:

Trump is just one of those rare public figures who likes getting down in the dirt with his enemies. He's a narcissist, without question. But the kind of narcissist who doesn't mind if the attention is negative or positive, as long as it's attention. When they made him pose for that mugshot, rather than feel disgrace and humiliation, he saw an opportunity. He had the pose for sale on t-shirts and coffee mugs on his website within an hour. Now it's hanging on a wall alongside portraits of Lincoln and FDR in the seat of American power. I don't think anyone could've seen this coming.

I shudder to think what's happening in that other timeline Andreessen talked about. But in this one, I just can't wait to see what's going to happen next. What an incredible time to be alive.