Social media explodes with memes on news of Trump indictment

Donald Trump has been indicted for hush money payments relating to the 2016 election, an unprecedented development making him the first US president to face criminal charges.

Something with a bit of precedent is the wave of memes that followed. As legal scholars and observers debate what will happen next to the former president, social media users quickly got to work making memes.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.

One social media user imagined Mr Trump’s jail cell decorations, adding a new caption to a famous photo of Mr Trump appearing to shout at a child mowing the White House lawn: “I NEED A POSTER OF RITA HAYWORTH” – a reference to the prison breakout movie The Shawshank Redemption, and the Stephen King story it’s based on, in which a picture of the 1940s pinup is used to disguise an escape tunnel.

Another commenter played on the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black and Mr Trump’s love of bronzer and his distinctive hair style, imposing a photo of the former president’s head onto a prison mugshot, with the inmate holding a sign that read, “Orange is the new inmate.”

Some online wondered, if Mr Trump is convicted, what his mugshot might look like.

The Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial, itself the subject of numerous memes, started to blend with the Trump indictment in the online jokes.

Resident Twitter “menswear guy” Derek Guy posted a photo of one of Ms Paltrow’s many eye-catching court outfits, writing, “Me walking into trump’s trial to celebrate and learn about law.”

Even seemingly unrelated pop culture accounts got in on the action, with film website Discussing Film using a still from Donald Trump’s cameo in Home Alone2 to announce the historic political news this way on social media: “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’ star Donald Trump has been indicted on criminal charges.

Though not quite a meme, many on social media couldn’t help but note the former president made a notable spelling mistake telling his followers about the indictment, blaring in all caps that “These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED” him.

Meanwhile, Comedy Central’s Daily Show poked fun at former president’s numerous false claims of having won the 2020 election.

“Congrats to Donald Trump on finally winning a majority of votes!” the satirical news programme wrote on Twitter on Thursday.