The Japan Times - 'Strategic distraction?' Trump ramps up AI memes ahead of midterms

Artificial intelligence has transformed Trump's Truth Social feed into a cascade of memes skewering his political rivals and glorifying himself, with the communications style echoed across his administration.

The attention-grabbing posts come as Trump's approval ratings slide to new lows ahead of elections in November, in which his Republican Party is seeking to maintain its narrow control of Congress.

Trump is "facing many problems that he has failed to solve," including an unpopular war with Iran and inflation, Todd Belt, director of the political management program at George Washington University, told AFP.

"So, he's flooding the information environment with positive images of himself, particularly images that make him look large and in charge."

For a president facing multiple challenges, Trump has averaged about 20 posts a day on Truth Social this year, researchers say, with many of those posts -- sometimes part of late-night tirades -- featuring AI-generated imagery.

During one particularly active stretch last weekend, one post showed Trump riding horseback beside George Washington, next to a race car, with the White House in the background.

Another depicted an enlarged image of Trump towering over Greenland beneath the words "Hello, Greenland!"

Trump has raised alarm by repeatedly threatening to take over Denmark's autonomous territory, saying it is vital for national security.

- 'Diverting attention' -

Another image showed Trump looming over warships, dressed as a military commander clad in gold armor, as fighter jets flew overhead.

Trump may be attempting to control the narrative with such AI-generated imagery, some observers say, even as he triggers backlash -- such as with his now-deleted post depicting himself as Jesus Christ.

"Trump's AI trial balloons are yet another strategic distraction, reducing public dialogue to the most banal issues in hopes of diverting attention from more important topics of the day," Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at the advocacy group Free Press, told AFP.

"If we are busy debating his likeness to Christ or some other AI-generated savior image, Trump hopes we might not have the time or energy or solidarity to challenge his latest war or rising unaffordability and gas prices."

Other analysts say the AI messaging could seek to rally his support base and campaign through trolling.

- 'Illusion is powerful' -

"Trump is posting these to generate emotion," Cory Alpert, a researcher at the University of Melbourne, wrote in a report.

"His followers are not seeing actual truth, but a version of reality that they want to believe is true. The illusion is powerful."

Underscoring the strategy's potential appeal to younger voters, similar AI-driven messaging has also been adopted by other arms of the Trump administration as well as by some of the president's political rivals.

It is unclear how much of the Truth Social feed is posted by Trump himself, by his White House team or a combination of both. The White House did not respond to AFP's request for comment.

"The White House is certainly aware of the stakes of the midterm elections, and the president's sensational AI renderings reflect the need to attract attention to initiatives he believes are successful," Walter Scheirer of the University of Notre Dame told AFP.

"Whether these AI fantasies and the less than spectacular circumstances they're based on resonate with voters will be determined in November."

M.Ito--JT