Donald Trump, who has sold steaks, buildings, ties, digital trading cards, and many other things with his name on them, is never someone who has missed an opportunity to make a little money, and it seems bookies are taking a similar approach to the former president’s indictment in Georgia for alleged election meddling.
Online bookmakers are now taking bets on seemingly every aspect of Mr Trump’s expected surrender on Thursday to Fulton County officials, ranging from the former president’s weight to his tie colour to whether he’ll wear one of his signature Make American Great Again hats.
Betting site BetOnline.ag is placing the betting line on Mr Trump’s weight at 278.5 pounds, well above his weight of 244 pounds in 2020 recorded by White House physicians.
The service is also offering bets on which shade Mr Trump’s skin will appear if he’s photographed in a mug shot, with suggested categories like MAGA Mango, Oompa Loompa Orange, and Marm-a-Lago Orange.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump wrote on social media about the charges he’s facing in Georgia, saying he was “going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be arrested by a radical left district attorney.”
When he arrives in the state, he’ll surrender to authorities at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail, where officials have suggested that despite his unique status as a former president, he’ll still be treated like a normal inmate being booked. Prison leaders have said the facility will be on a “hard lockdown” when Mr Trump is in the building along with his Secret Service detail.
“Unless someone tells me differently, we are following our normal practices and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mugshot ready for you,” Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said at a press conference this month.
Donald Trump is expected to surrender to Georgia officials on Thursday— (AFP via Getty Images)
Once he is processed, the former president will be released back into the public ahead of his trial on 13 counts, including violating Georgia’s organised crime RICO statute.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis gave Mr Trump and his co-defendants until 25 August to surrender.
The facility where Mr Trump will be processed has suffered from numerous problems in the past, holding twice its original capacity of 1,300 inmates. Six people have died in Fulton County Jail this year, and a report from the Southern Center for Human Rights has documented outbreaks of Covid, lice, scabies, and widespread malnourishment among inmates.
