Topline

President Donald Trump attacked his predecessor, Joe Biden, with an apparent AI-generated caricature depicting him as sleepy and under the control of others, reiterating unsubstantiated claims that autopen signatures were used on executive orders during the Biden presidency to hide his alleged cognitive decline and allow others to exercise presidential authority.

US President Donald Trump smiles as he participates in a Small Business Summit in the East Room of the White House.

AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts

The image shared by Trump on Truth Social depicts Biden being asleep at the Oval Office desk while he’s surrounded by former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while someone else signs what appears to be a presidential order.

Obama is depicted as holding a box that says “autopen”, while someone else is depicted inhaling cocaine off the resolute desk.

Trump’s post then accuses Biden of doing “Tremendous damage” before claiming “WE’RE BACK.”

The president followed up the caricature post with a link to the Dow Jones ticker, as the index crossed 50,000 yesterday.

President Donald Trump posted this image on his Truth Social handle.

Truth Social, @realDonaldTrumpWhat Do We Know About Trump’s Recent Ai Posts?

The president has courted controversy over the past few months for sharing AI-generated images. The biggest of these controversies involved a post depicting Trump as Jesus Christ, while he was engaged in a feud with the Pope. The post came under severe criticism from people across the political spectrum and the president eventually took it down. However, a few days later, Trump re-shared another AI-generated image depicting him being embraced by Jesus in front of an American flag. In February, a racist clip shared by Trump triggered outrage after it depicted Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as dancing apes, with the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” playing in the background. Last year, shortly after Pope Francis’ death, the White House shared another controversial AI-generated image on X showing Trump as the next Pope.

What Do We Know About Trump’s Autopen Claims?

Last year, Trump ordered former Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Biden’s executive actions during his term, alleging without evidence that his staff covered up the former president’s “cognitive decline.” The White House’s announcement also called for a probe into whether Biden officials had “conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state” and “ unconstitutionally exercise” presidential authority. An autopen is a device used to physically replicate a person’s signature and it has been used in the White House for decades, including during Trump’s time in office. However, Trump has argued that in Biden’s case, it may invalidate some executive actions he undertook, including the preemptive pardons he granted to the president’s political enemies.

Further Reading

Trump Posts AI Photo With Jesus—Days After He Was Slammed For ‘Blasphemy’ (Forbes)

Trump Removes Image Of Himself As Jesus After Outrage (Forbes)