On Sunday, the official White House X and Instagram accounts shared an AI-generated image depicting Donald Trump as a muscular Jedi to mark “Star Wars” Day. The accompanying post stated, “Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy. You’re not the Rebellion—you’re the Empire. May the 4th be with you. ” While the post labels Trump’s political opponents as “Sith Lords, ” the villainous characters in the “Star Wars” universe, the lightsaber in the image is red, a color traditionally reserved for dark side villains such as Darth Vader. By contrast, blue or green lightsabers are almost exclusively associated with the light side of the Force, except in a few cases. This isn’t the first occasion the White House’s social media accounts have posted AI-generated images of the President.

The day before, on Saturday, the White House shared an AI-generated image of Trump portrayed as the Pope on its X and Instagram pages. This post followed closely on the heels of Pope Francis’s death on April 21. May 4th is popularly known as “Star Wars” Day among fans of the franchise. To celebrate, it is customary to say “May the 4th be with you, ” a pun on the iconic “Star Wars” phrase, “may the Force be with you. ” The day gained popularity among fans years after the 1977 release of “A New Hope. ” One of the earliest media references to the day was in a British political advertisement: following Margaret Thatcher’s election, the U. K. Conservative Party used the slogan “May the Fourth be with you” in an ad commemorating the day of her victory.