Donald Trump's Thumb Mocked in New Photo

Former President Donald Trump has been mocked on social media for giving a characteristic thumbs-up as he posed for a photo with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, though supporters praised his appearance.

Trump sat down for a Fox News town hall with Ingraham that aired on Tuesday. During their chat in South Carolina, the GOP frontrunner for this year's presidential election saw himself fact-checked by Ingraham when he made claims of voter fraud.

Speaking at the pre-taped event, Trump said "you automatically have fraud" when mail-in voting systems are used. Ingraham said in response that "there is mail-in voting in Florida and you won huge."

Trump won over Biden in Florida by around 371,686 votes. Data from Pew Research released in November 2020 said around 46 percent of voters said they used absentee of mail-in ballots to vote in the presidential election.

The former star of The Apprentice has continued to say the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, despite there being no evidence of this. He made repeated claims in the lead up to the election that the use of mail-in voting led to fraud. "As far as the ballots are concerned, it's a disaster," he said in September 2020.

Speaking during this week's town hall, Trump said: "When you go into a voting place, like you go into one in a properly run state, they look at you, you give voter ID, you give all sorts of identification... It would be very hard to cheat [on] a mass scale."

While purported voter fraud and a number of other topics sparked discussion among viewers, a seemingly innocuous photo stemming from the town hall has gone viral on X, formerly Twitter.

Ron Filipkowski, an attorney and frequent Trump critic, on Tuesday posted the image of the former president and Ingraham smiling as they posed together.

"[That's] a wrap on another Fox free primetime infomercial for the Trump campaign," Filipowski captioned the photo. "Quality journalism right here."

While a number of X users chimed with comments of a similar vein, several mocked the fact that the Trump opted to give the thumbs-up for the photo.

"God, if I have to see that inane thumbs up one more time....," wrote one, while another asked: "What's with this whole thumbs up thing?"

Enquired another: "Is his thumb paralyzed?"

Echoing that sentiment, another post read: "Is his thumb stuck like that?"

"Why does he keep showing us his tiny little thumb and s*** eating grin?" asked another detractor.

Amid the negative comments, several Trump supporters praised the town hall. "Kudos to President Trump for another amazing town hall & speaking to the real needs of the American people!!!" wrote one supporter.

Another called Trump himself "amazing," adding: "If I wasn't already settled and comfortable with voting for him I would be now. He'll heal this country, get our success back for all Americans. Vote Trump 2024."

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Trump via email for comment.

Elsewhere in his town hall with Ingraham, Trump suggested that at least six names are on his shortlist to be his potential vice president.

Host Ingraham asked Trump about six possible candidates: Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Byron Donalds, Kristi Noem, Tim Scott and Tulsi Gabbard.

"Are they all on your shortlist?" Ingraham enquired.

"They are," Trump responded. "Honestly all of those people are good. They're all good, they're all solid."

Trump is the GOP frontrunner currently polling at 77.7 percent nationally, according to an average put forth by website FiveThirtyEight. According to a Morning Consult poll of 6,321 registered voters conducted from February 17 to 19, the Republican is at 45 percent and Democratic President Joe Biden stands at 41 percent.

Until the Fox News interview, Trump had been reticent to reveal his potential pick for vice president.

Trump had consistently criticized DeSantis, who dropped out of the Republican primary race before endorsing Trump, nicknaming him "Ron DeSanctimonious."

Scott, the South Carolina senator, dropped out of the race for the White House in November and endorsed Trump. Ramaswamy also previously ran in the GOP primaries and has now endorsed Trump.

Noem, the governor of South Dakota, is another Trump loyalist with close ties to the MAGA movement.

Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who ran for president in 2020, has since become a regular on conservative media.

Rep. Donalds, a Florida Republican, has in the past described himself as a "Trump-supporting, gun-owning, liberty-loving, pro-life, politically incorrect Black man."

Presidential candidates typically announce their choice of running mate in the days and weeks leading up to the party conventions. Until then, speculation about who Trump's running mate will be will remain just that.