The White House’s Star Wars Day message has sparked a wave of mockery online after it shared an AI-generated image of Donald Trump holding a red lightsaber, styled as a muscled, heroic character reminiscent of the Star Wars universe. The post, published on May 4th lashed out at the “left lunatics” saying, “You’re not the Rebellion—you’re the Empire. May the 4th be with you,” intended to cast Trump as a defiant warrior facing off against his critics. Instead, it prompted questions about whether the administration had confused its heroes with villains.
The image showed Trump flanked by bald eagles, wielding a red lightsaber, a colour famously associated with Sith Lords like Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. Though the message appeared to celebrate Trump as a fighter against “Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords… and MS-13 Gang Members,” many online were quick to point out the ironic symbolism. In the Star Wars universe, red lightsabers signal authoritarianism, fear, and lust for power.
Social media quickly lit up with users lampooning the White House’s apparent misfire. One wrote, “The only character I see Trump playing in Star Wars is Jabba The Hutt, no makeup needed.” Another commented, “May the Farce Be With You,” calling the image an “accidental confession” that aligned Trump with the very forces of darkness the post claimed to oppose.
Many users highlighted the symbolism: “Does the Trump White House not realise the bad guys have red lightsabers? The Jedi have blue; the Sith have red. Very fitting!” Another remarked, “You guys know you’re the bad guys, right?”
Others mocked the account’s tone and content. “You idiots DO realise this sht is considered official presidential communication and gets stored forever in the Library of Congress, right?” one person wrote. Another joked, “Who the hell is running this account? Barron?”
Still, not everyone saw a problem. One user defended the colour choice, saying, “Red is one of the three colours in our nation’s flag. Context matters.” Another claimed Trump had “just finished beating Darth Vader like a bongo drum,” and had taken his lightsaber as a trophy.
The post followed an earlier AI-generated image that showed Trump dressed as the Pope, adding to growing concerns over the White House’s use of stylised, AI-heavy imagery in official communications. As one critic bluntly put it: “This is how historians will mark the dumbest period in American history.”
