Ahead of the election, Trump posted fake images of Kamala Harris leading a communist rally, furthering his claims that she is a Marxist. Upping the ante and capitalizing on the unlimited powers of AI, the president’s close confidant, Elon Musk, posted a generated video of a Harris-sounding voice claiming to be a “diversity hire.”
While public bashing of political opponents has long been a key campaign strategy, the ability to easily and inexpensively generate false supporting imagery is new and dangerous for voters, according to Darrell West, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
“You can portray candidates in a false light by showing a candidate next to somebody who's very unpopular. I've seen pictures of Kamala Harris in a bathing suit hugging convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,” West told the Observer in September. “That never took place, but the picture looked completely authentic. I saw people circulating that on Facebook and saying, ‘Hey, we should be voting for someone who supports child molestation?’ So I think we need to worry about false narratives that potentially could influence voters.”
As time has progressed and AI has improved, the president has continued to utilize the tool to create grand illusions for his loyal social media followers. Rather than creating false narratives of his opponents, the president has refocused on falsely substantiating his wildest claims with generated images and videos.
Here are some of the dumbest AI-generated things Trump has posted since the November election:
May 3, 2025, Pope Trump I
Trump boldly posted an AI-generated image of himself on the papal throne, adorned with the mitre and a large rosary. The post comes as the Sistine Chapel seals its doors for the latest conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor. The image comes after reporters asked Trump who he would like to see as the next pope, and the president jokingly suggested himself."I'd like to be pope,” he said. “That would be my No. 1 choice."
The Trump administration was not in the best graces with the Bishop of Rome. However, despite disagreements over immigration policy, Vice President JD Vance and Pope Francis were able to set aside differences for a last-minute meeting before the pope died the following day. Trump, along with the First Lady, joined a slew of international diplomats at the pope’s funeral in the Vatican.
Before the president can consider himself eligible for the role of leader of the Roman Catholic Church, he must first be baptized.
Feb. 25, 2025, Trump Gaza
In discussing the crossfire effect the Israel-Hamas War has had on the Gaza Strip, Trump has proposed colonization as a solution. In a February meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the United States would “own” the Gaza Strip."The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too," Mr. Trump said. "We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings — level it out."
Roughly two weeks later, the president posted a video of what the resort-style “Trump Gaza” would look like, complete with a towering golden statue of the president, an endless stream of cash raining down and an array of bearded belly dancers on the beach. The video is staged over an admittedly catchy AI track that sounds like bad house music.
Dec. 14, 2024, McDonald’s Drones
Many of Trump’s Instagram posts do not have captions, offering zero context or additional information. This is one of those posts.The image, posted on the president’s official Instagram account, shows an AI-generated version of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie chowing down on McDonald’s burgers, with more on the way by way of delivery drones. The post came in the midst of a mass hysteria of drone sightings, beginning in New Jersey and spreading throughout the country, even reaching Dallas. Fear-mongerers and conspiracy theorists tied the drone sightings to international governmental threats, aliens and general nefariousness. The Federal Bureau of Investigation even opened an investigation into the sightings.
But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the large presence of drones over New Jersey was actually a project administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“I do have news directly from the President of the United States that was just shared with me in the Oval Office, from President Trump directly, an update on the New Jersey drones,” she said. “After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”
Dec. 3, 2024, “Oh Canada!”
Tensions between Canada and the United States have accelerated since Trump announced his early intentions to tariff imports from the land above. While the tariff amounts have decreased, there’s still animosity, resulting in the Canadian boycott of American products and the reduction of travel to the U.S. But to add fuel to the fire, Trump has teased the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state. He’s also threatened Greenland.The feud got so big that even Gov. Greg Abbott chimed in, threatening to leverage the Texas economy to price out Canadian buyers on the state’s largest exports like cotton.
“T-shirts are made of cotton. That cotton comes from Texas — the #1 producer in America,” Abbott said on X. “There is tremendous demand for our cotton all over the world. I wonder if Canadians will be able to afford the cotton on their backs.”
This image of Trump overlooking the Canadian landscape from a mountaintop certainly isn’t mending any broken bones.
Nov. 28, 2024, Trumpsgiving
In another caption-less post, the president gave his supporters much to be thankful for in one of his strangest AI posts. Superimposed over the feast scene from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, a table, headed by Joe Biden, and surrounded by Harris, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and others, is disrupted by Trump emerging from a sliced turkey to the tune of Y.M.C.A by the Village People.A clip of the president’s jaunty dance, which has become one of the most recognizable aspects of his public persona, bounces at the top of the table over a stream of sparkles. Just watch it for yourself.
