A bizarre video of Donald Trump piloting a fighter jet with “King Trump” emblazoned on its nose soared onto social media late Saturday, quickly launching a fresh round of controversy.
This twenty-second clip showed a digitally created Trump in a gold crown, his skin bright orange, steering the aircraft through a bustling city while protesters below receive a torrent of brown sludge dropped from above.
Spectators caught in the onslaught appear to be standing in a recreation of Times Square, many recording the moment on their phones as the contents rain down.
For added cinematic effect, the Trump plane zooms past as Kenny Loggins’s anthem “Danger Zone,” immortalized in Top Gun, blares in the background.
Loggins himself was not amused by the unauthorized use of his classic. He said, “Nobody asked for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on the video is removed immediately.”
The posting came on the heels of widespread protests against Trump’s potential return to power, as crowds gathered in every state under the slogan “No Kings.” Handwritten placards mocked the idea of a modern monarchy, a pointed riff on the year 1776 and American independence.
Trump, for his part, told reporters before the protests, “They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.”
A day later, his approach shifted. “I’m not a king. I work my ass off to make our country great. That’s all it is. I’m not a king at all,” he insisted, before dismissing the demonstrations as “a joke.”
He continued, “When you look at those people, they are not representative of the people of our country.”
Artificial Intelligence and Political Attack Ads
This is not the first time Trump or his allies have used AI-created images or videos to needle political adversaries or build up his campaign appeal.
Earlier this month, Trump posted a synthetic video clip of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling fellow Democrats “woke pieces of shit,” with a caricature of House Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a fake mustache and traditional musician’s costume set to peppy music.
When asked about the post, vice president JD Vance brushed off criticism and called it humorous, saying, “You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats’ positions.”
Republican digital strategy has showcased growing comfort with these tactics. Just last week, a Senate GOP social media account published another video that used AI graphics to lampoon Schumer as indifferent to the government shutdown, with only a nearly invisible label indicating the content was AI made.
Across social channels, Trump’s own feed has filled with digitally altered memes and clips, praising him and ridiculing political enemies.
With political tensions running high and both sides accusing the other of distortion, AI generated images and videos have carved out a bold new space in today’s battles for public opinion.
