President Donald Trump and many of the people in his circle appear to love AI-generated images. Trump has been known to share images of himself looking much younger and more muscular than he actually looks in real life. So, when someone shared an altered image of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, it reminded people of the current president, and critics on social media found it super disturbing and embarrassing.
The altered image of Rogers made him look really buff. To be fair, Rogers wasn’t the one who posted the image, but critics had a lot to say about Republicans after the unrealistic image went viral.
The image surfaced online as part of a birthday message to the Senate candidate.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Michigan’s next Senator, @MikeRogersForMI !!! LET’S GET TO WORK 💪🏻🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/41caprGBNy
— Abby Ronson (@abbyronson) June 2, 2026
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Michigan’s next Senator, @MikeRogersForMI !!! LET’S GET TO WORK 💪🏻” Abby Ronson captioned the image on X. Ronson works for a Rogers campaign vendor, according to The Detroit News. Soon after Ronson posted the image, people started mocking Rogers online (and also questioning why Republicans keep sharing altered images like this).
Ron Filipkowski, Editor-in Chief at MeidasTouch.com, shared the original photo of Rogers and the altered image side-by-side to emphasize how different they looked. The stark contrast between the original photo and the AI-generated one reminded people of the images Trump regularly posts on Truth Social. “He’s been Trumpified!!” one person commented. And why is this even a thing? Someone else said, “Apparently this fake photo disease and bizarre need for enhancement is contagious!” A lot of others joked that the altered photo served as an example of gender-affirming care.
But people also questioned what the point of doing this actually is.
L – GOP Rep and MI senate candidate Mike Rogers actual photo from the campaign trail.
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 2, 2026
R – Photo put out by staffer. pic.twitter.com/9INYkYcQNy
Are the AI-generated images really fooling anyone? After all, we know what Rogers (and Trump) really look like. “What…What do you even achieve by doing this?” a critic wrote on Reddit. “We can see him in real life.”
“Either they’re insecure or trying to overcompensate,” someone else speculated. Another person wrote, “What do they think people think when they see him in real life and he isn’t all hulked?”
To many critics, sharing AI-generated photos like this is just embarrassing — but that hasn’t stopped Republicans from doing it.
It feels extremely shallow (and problematic) to people as well.
He's been Trumpified!! pic.twitter.com/x3TizULyB2
— Ed G (@EdGeeDetroiter) June 2, 2026
The fact that someone actually shared this photo of Rogers was kind of hilarious to some people, but others just found it super weird and kind of unsettling. And to some critics, the image seemed to represent a much larger problem.
For one, those who share these kinds of images (*cough* Trump *cough*) seem shallow to people. “They are wayyy too obsessed with other people’s bodies,” someone wrote. “It’s really creepy.”
Plus, people took issue with the fact that AI-generated images are an example of politicians misrepresenting themselves. “These people are so fake they can’t even post an accurate image of themselves,” another commenter concluded. And one critic who agreed with this take added, “It just shows how fundamentally dishonest the MAGA mob are. The truth is utterly meaningless to them.”
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