Horsing around: How Trump's AI George Washington image has symbolically backfired

Donald Trump's latest AI-generated image, depicting him horse riding alongside George Washington, has backfired as many have pointed out the symbolic blunder of him riding a black horse in the current climate... Donald Trump is no stranger to bulk posting AI-generated imagery as part of what has been referred to as “memetic warfare” - a tactic which sees him and his administration flood the zone when it comes to AI slop in order to appeal to his base and beyond. While this social media strategy isn't new, one recently shared image has once again shown that the use of AI can be detrimental when it comes to conveying the proper message. Specifically, how the AI images he posts frequently backfire due to a lack of understanding when it comes to cultural references. His recent cultural blunder is a symbolic one, which comes with an image he posted yesterday. It sees Trump horse riding with Founding Father and first president of the United States, George Washington. The self-aggrandising image sees Washington riding a white horse, while Trump is on a black stallion. While it's not the first time that Trump has hijacked the figure of George Washington, having posted a series of AI images of himself showing Washington around the new White House ballroom, it didn't take long for many to point out the symbolically charged equine error on show. The cultural connotations of the black horse are numerous, and usually negative. In Henry Fuseli's 1781 masterpiece 'The Nightmare', the ghostly dark horse is a sleep paralysis demon and the embodiment of repressed dread. In modern symbolism, the black horse can reflect hidden desires and dark secrets, but generally belongs to a series of images mirroring what psychologist Carl Jung called "the shadow self", which includes repressed anger and shame. Then comes the Biblical reading, as the black horse is a known reference within apocalyptic contexts. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation all ride different coloured horses. The white horse is pestilence; the red horse represents war; the pale horse is death; and the black horse is famine, representing food scarcity and economic hardship. Considering Trump's image comes at a time when the price of gas, food and other essentials have soared due to the Iran war, which has now entered its sixth month, the image of him riding a black horse feels accidentally apt - what some have referred to as a "catastrophic self-own". Social media users pointed out that Trump's handling of the ongoing US affordability crisis is unfortunately reflected in this symbolically loaded image, while others have made references to pop culture and films, with one X user noting: “Does Trump know that bad guys ride the black horse?” Much like the red lightsaber SNAFU or the irony of portraying himself as Superman or using Spider-Man references, the misused cultural connotations have once again revealed a certain level of cultural illiteracy... It's not the only black and white slip-up that has sparked alarm this weekend... Trump posted a black and white 2028 image on Truth Social, which has been perceived as yet another inidication that he will be persuing a third term and is considering being president in 2028 - despite this being unconstitutional due to a two-term limit. The image, posted with the caption “We are going to win” has reminded people of how Trump began selling red 2028 caps last year. “I don’t think he’s planning on leaving,” said one X user, while another commented: “America needs to brace for chaos in 2028’s elections. NOT GOOD”.