Trump shared the image on Truth Social on September 24, showing himself saluting beside Xi at Joint Base Andrews. Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping has raised questions over an apparent AI-altered photo and Xi’s firm message on US-China ties. Details in the picture appear different from photographs taken during Xi’s arrival.
But photographs taken during Xi’s September 23 arrival show Trump looking different during the military flyover. On September 13, he said, “Whoever wins AI, and we’re leading by a lot, whoever wins AI wins. Reuters reported that the two leaders also discussed the growing strategic rivalry between their countries.
A day later, Xi spoke at the White House about keeping competition between the US and China “within bounds. Trump’s Truth Social post shows him standing beside Xi in front of the Chinese president’s plane, with his arm raised in a salute. In those images, he is seen ducking his head and clenching his teeth instead of looking straight ahead and saluting. His gloves are another difference. Trump was wearing gloves on both hands in photographs from the event, while the image he shared shows his left hand without a glove. Other parts of the picture also appear to have been changed, including details around Xi’s aircraft and the appearance of White House chief of protocol Monica Crowley. Dr. He pointed to differences involving Crowley and Trump’s gloves as signs of possible AI changes. Trump has also spoken about his use of AI. When asked how he uses the technology himself, Trump replied, “Well, I don’t want to tell you that. The photo controversy came during Xi’s state visit to Washington, where he met Trump for talks covering trade, AI and the wider US-China relationship. Xi’s actual comments, however, focused on managing competition and avoiding conflict. Trump, meanwhile, praised Xi during the visit and called him a “truly great friend. The two leaders’ public remarks showed different ways of presenting the relationship, even as their governments continue dealing with major disagreements.
An AI expert told PEOPLE the image was “highly likely” to have been made with AI. The Daily Beast described the exchange as Xi “humiliates” Trump, though that is the outlet’s characterization. The words “Only Trump” also appear above the two leaders. Joe Ondrak, director at Peryton Intelligence, reviewed the images for PEOPLE and said it was “highly likely” that the Trump administration used AI “at least in part” to create the image from the original photograph. Ondrak said, “it’s likely that AI has hallucinated certain elements while trying to touch up the photograph. During a White House ceremony, Xi referred to the “Thucydides trap,” a theory about tensions between a rising power and an established power leading to conflict. “The Thucydides trap can be overcome,” Xi said, calling for the US and China to “coexist in peace” and for American competition with China to be “kept within bounds. The Daily Beast described Xi’s remarks as a “power move” and used “humiliates” in its headline.
