Trump Defends AI Data Centers Amid Criticism
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What happened
President Donald Trump has recently posted a series of AI-generated images and videos on Truth Social. The posts include depictions of Trump on horseback beside George Washington, in the body of Hulk Hogan and arm-wrestling him, standing with Generals George Patton and Douglas MacArthur, commanding an aircraft carrier, and in other fantastical scenes such as dancing while replacing a Lake Ontario sign with one for Lake America and a video of armed “Donald Ducks.” He also posted a ranking of U.S. presidents with his own face labeled “The Greatest,” an image of Barack Obama looking in a mirror and seeing Trump, and posts defending AI data centers. Those data-center posts drew a high volume of critical comments on the platform.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 2 articles
1 of 2 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
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ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only left-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
Fox Business reported it on 2026-09-14.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Right-leaning outlets had not covered Trump's AI posts as of publication, so those readers miss the pictures and the criticism entirely. Left-leaning coverage describes dozens of generated Truth Social images and a defense of AI data centers that drew pushback on his own platform. The Atlantic presents the images as a new kind of self-portrait anyone can now summon. The New York Times reports that commenters met the data-center posts with unusual criticism.
Left-leaning outlets also split on what the story is. The Atlantic leads with cartoon self-myth, including Trump in a World War II uniform between Patton and MacArthur. The Times leads with platform backlash and a suggestion that Trump may not be entirely wrong about the technology.
Did commenters on Truth Social attack the fake images the way they attacked the data-center posts?
Bottom line
Only left-leaning outlets have written about Trump's AI posts, and they are not even writing about the same ones: The Atlantic catalogs fake portraits, while The New York Times flags a data-center defense his commenters attacked.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Trump recently disseminated dozens of AI-generated images on Truth Social.
- His posts defending AI data centers were met with an unusual volume of criticism from commenters on Truth Social.
- He posted a video of Donald Ducks with his hair, armed with machine guns, protecting Lake America.
- In most cases the images were prompted by supporters and then reposted by Trump.
- A ranking graphic put Trump's face in a box roughly four times the size of the other presidents, labeled The Greatest.
The Left View
The Atlantic described a “barrage of fake images” on Truth Social as virtual self-aggrandizement and a lesson in AI’s risks, listing specific posts and analogizing AI to an unbounded mirror via Jacques Lacan; it said the images may look like trolling to supporters, immature or sad to critics, and that they expose prompted fantasies of power. The New York Times reported that Trump’s Truth Social posts defending AI data centers met an unusual volume of criticism from commenters, and separately published a piece asking whether Trump “may not be entirely wrong about A.I.” amid broader debate over the technology.
Our Take (balanced)
The core story is substantive: the Truth Social posts are public, named, and checkable, including specific AI images, a presidential ranking graphic, and visible commenter pushback on data-center posts. Claims about Trump’s psychology, “dangers for all of us,” or what the images “teach” about AI are interpretation, not established fact. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for further archived posts, any White House or official comment on the images or AI infrastructure, and whether data-center criticism is followed by policy, permitting, or legislative records.
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