How an AI Star Wars image has backfired on Trump and the White House
'That's no moon...'
No, Obi-wan, it really isn't. That's the official account of the White House posting an AI-generated image of Donald Trump as a jacked Jedi.
Funny the things that pass for normal these days...
To mark Star Wars Day, celebrated on May 4th – as a nod to the famous quote 'May the force be with you' - the White House posted on its official X account a computer-generated picture of a muscled-to-the-point-of-overcompensation version of Trump clutching a lightsaber in front of US flags and a pair of bald eagles.
It's... Well, it's past the point of parody.
The caption read: 'Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy. You're not the Rebellion - you're the Empire. May the 4th be with you.'
Many things to unpack here, but one element stood out even more than those comically protruding veins on Trump's biceps: the red lightsaber.
As even the most casual of Star Wars fans can attest, red is the chosen colour of the villainous Sith Lords. Star Wars creator George Lucas once said regarding lightsaber colours: 'Good guys are green and blue, bad guys are red.'
Hardly rocket science, but it does mean that the image is an almighty self-own which signals that Trump is the very evil he's seeking to defeat.
As one X user pointed out: 'The lack of self awareness and hypocrisy by calling the left 'the empire' while showing trump with a Sith lightsaber.'
Some argued that red is the Republican colour and therefore works. However, the Star Wars universe features other lightsaber colours like green, yellow or even purple, none of which have negative connotations or links with the Democrats' colour of choice: blue.
The blunder is hardly surprising, considering Trump's cultural illiteracy is documented, as he proved with his frequent Hannibal Lecter references and lack of knowledge regarding the literary and cinematic references he was making during the campaign trail. Once again, and much like his Hannibal references, this botched Star Wars image is a ridiculous attempt to co-opt a popular cinematic touchstone, resulting in confused fearmongering tactics that reveal Trump and his team's genuine lack of cultural savvy.
It was also the second time in three days that the White House shared an AI-generated image of Trump that stoked controversy.
Trump shared an image on his Truth Social account depicting himself as the pope, after jokingly stating he should succeed the late Pope Francis.
Indeed, days before the post, Trump joked he was the 'number one choice' to succeed the late Francis. 'I'd like to be pope. That would be my number one choice,' he told reporters at the White House.
Trump received criticism over the irreverent post. Republicans against Trump reposted the image on X, calling it 'a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith', while former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi wrote on X: 'This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown. In the meantime, the American economy risks recession and the dollar loses value.'
Whether it's an AI Pope or an AI Jedi, it's clear that the Trump administration is showing that traditional White House communication is a thing of the past and that even artificial intelligence is making them look like the bad guys.
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