I have always been someone who’s against AI, especially when it comes to creating art or images. I have always seen or just assumed that it would only be used by people who want help with organization or students who want help with assignments. I never thought that a president would jump on the AI train as well, especially in such an offensive way.

President Donald Trump has posted and reposted many AI images of himself and others, one depicting Michelle Obama and Barack Obama as apes and another depicting himself as Jesus. First of all, the post featuring the Obamas was extremely racist and inappropriate for someone who should be running our country. It’s childish for one to post such a vile image of someone else and then try to avoid blame. Trump never officially apologized for the post, further showing his lack of social etiquette and overall respect. Moreover, the AI image of Trump being Jesus, even though Trump claimed he was a “doctor,” is insensitive and offensive to Christianity. Depicting yourself as any divine figure is also very inappropriate. Moreover, lying about you depicting yourself as Jesus, even if it is extremely obvious what you were trying to do, shows a level of disconnect.

Trump should be someone that people look up to in a sense, due to his position as president. However, these images show  the public Trump’s lack of maturity and accountability. Accountability is one quality that I believe is very important in a president, so it is very frightening to know that the person running this country is too proud to apologize for his racist and inappropriate posts. It is even more concerning that he was confident enough to post or repost those images.

Trump is the president of a country that contains people of all kinds of ethnic and religious backgrounds. These images, even if they are directly pointed at the rest of the general public, are very offensive. As a result, it is confusing that before hitting that post button, Trump did not even think about the impact that these images could have on the general public.

I think that political figures should stay away from AI services, especially when it comes to generating images similar to those that Trump has created. Politicians should be taking the Americans that they are trying to represent into consideration, instead of posting offensive and racist images.