Trump posts AI-generated image of himself beside a shackled alien

In his latest posting spree on social media, President Donald Trump uploaded several images depicting himself blowing up several spacecraft and walking beside a muscular alien in handcuffs.

The posts come just a week after the Pentagon released what it described as "never-before-seen" files on unidentified flying objects. Experts who combed through the government documents said the release did not contain any "smoking gun" that showed clear evidence of extraterrestrial visits to Earth.

One of the AI-generated images shows Trump, flanked by Secret Service agents and military personnel, standing beside a silver extraterrestrial being wearing shackles on its hands and feet. Others depict the president behind the controls of a spaceship as other ships explode in the background. One post has the words "target destroyed."

In his second term in office, Trump has repeatedly discussed unidentified flying objects and aliens, though he is not the only president in recent modern history to do so. At a White House event with the crew of NASA's landmark Artemis II mission, Trump teased the release saying, "I think some of it is going to be very interesting to people."

The president added that he had "interviewed people" who told him that "they saw things you wouldn't believe" but did not elaborate. Trump previously described the documents as a "first release" but it's unclear if more documents will be published.

Along with the AI-generated image of himself beside an alien, Trump on May 17 posted images of Venezuela and Iran overlaid with the U.S. flag; images of himself behind the controls of a spacecraft; and several AI-generated images disparaging Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The posting spree came after Trump returned from a two-day summit in China. In between the memes and AI-generated images, he posted images of himself standing beside Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Trump often posts AI-generated images and memes on his Truth Social, some of which have stirred controversy.

In April, Trump posted and later deleted an AI‑generated image of himself apparently depicted as Jesus after religious leaders blasted it as sacrilegious. In February, Trump posted an apparent video meme of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama depicted as apes, which received bipartisan pushback that eventually led to the post's deletion.

Contributing: Kate Perez, USA TODAY; Natassia Paloma, El Paso Times