Bigger picture of Trump's weird AI images obsession

The Republican party and its presidential nominee now have a tool that allows them to visualise the hypothetical realities they are peddling to their supporters, writes Mike Bedigan

- Mike Bedigan

First appeared "Comrade Kamala" with a hammer and sickle.

Then, a line of blonde women wearing "Swifties for Trump" merchandise. By the time Donald Trump himself appeared riding a lion, it was clear: fan-generated AI images were the Republican candidate’s latest obsession.

The former president has been sharing such images since March 2023, with his face photoshopped onto images including a Second World War soldier, a cowboy, and even the musclebound body of Rambo – earnestly and without irony.

Yet the frequency of Trump’s sharing of such fantastical images has ramped up considerably in recent weeks. Notably, it seems, following the ascension of Kamala Harris to become the Democratic nominee and the online success of her own campaign.

June Cross, director of the Documentary Journalism Programme at Columbia University, suggests one simple reason for this: Mr Trump is just trying to stay relevant.

“In 2016, whatever Trump posted actually blew into the liberal media,” Ms Cross tells The Independent. “People would be reacting like ‘can you believe this outrageous thing he said today?’ I’m not sure if that’s happening this time around, because Kamala has proven herself as adept at using social media as Trump was. She’s just better at coming up with memes.”

The Harris campaign has quickly excelled in the online sphere, ever since British pop singer Charli XCX declared that “kamala is brat” – a reference to her wildly popular new album. The addition of Tim Walz, already familiar with viral videos, thanks to his daughter Hope, has only built momentum.