--- title: "Ron DeSantis Ad Features AI-Generated Images of Donald Trump Kissing Fauci" description: "The Ron DeSantis campaign released a video featuring what appears to be AI-generated imagery of Donald Trump kissing Anthony Fauci." date: "2023-06-09" modified: "2023-06-09" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/ron-desantis-ad-ai-generated-donald-trump-fauci" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "2024 election" - "ai" - "american politics" - "generative ai" --- # Ron DeSantis Ad Features AI-Generated Images of Donald Trump Kissing Fauci ![The Ron DeSantis campaign released a video featuring what appears to be AI-generated imagery of Donald Trump kissing Anthony Fauci.]() *\Image: Ron DeSantis\* The mainstreaming of AI-generated imagery in political advertisements continues. As [reported by *The Verge*](), the 2024 presidential campaign behind Florida governor Ron DeSantis has [released a video advertisement]() featuring what strongly appear to be AI-generated images of former president Donald Trump kissing and embracing Anthony Fauci, the former White House chief medical advisor whose role in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and response has made him a target of right-wing conspiracy theories. Anti-vaccine and anti-COVID restriction messaging has become a rallying cry on the right, although the vaccine was one of Trump's [most concrete accomplishments]() during his term. DeSantis, who became a political star on the right in part because of [Florida's lax COVID restrictions](), has made Trump's alleged coziness to Fauci — the other main face behind pandemic lockdowns and vaccination efforts, which many far-righters have painted as tyrannical — central to his presidential bid. The video in question — which was first shared to Twitter on June 5 by the "DeSantis War Room, a Twitter account [created last August]() by DeSantis aide Christina Pushaw — plays on these themes, juxtaposing clips of Trump firing contestants on his reality show with soundbites of the former president refusing to fire Fauci as well as imagery of the two figures alongside one another. And importantly, the videos of Trump on his reality show are marked as "Reality TV Trump," while all other clips are marked as "Real Life Trump." "Donald Trump became a household name by FIRING countless people \*on television\*," reads the video's accompanying caption. "But when it came to Fauci..." But [according to an *AFP* fact-check](), some of those images marked "Real Life Trump" — three, to be exact — weren't "real" at all, and instead are overwhelmingly likely to have been AI-generated. https://twitter.com/DeSantisWarRoom/status/1665799058303188992 On closer inspection, the telltale signs of AI generation become clearer. In the phony photos — in all of which Trump is seen either kissing Fauci's cheek, embracing the former medical advisor, or both — Trump's hair is suspiciously blurry, while both figures' skin is inhumanly smooth. And in one of the photos, the White House logo pictured in the background contains a bunch of scrambled nonsense letters (rather than, you know, words.) But insidiously, the three fake images were not only pictured under text that said "Real Life Trump," but were also juxtaposed alongside three real and similar photos of Trump and Fauci together — a decision that makes the fake photos seem all the more plausible. "It was sneaky to intermix what appears to be authentic photos with fake photos," Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told the *AFP*, "but these three images are almost certainly AI-generated." Folks in DeSantis' camp have yet to confirm or deny the use of AI, and instead are hitting back with a heavy dose of Trump-targeted whataboutism. "No campaign has pushed more misleading deepfakes, false photoshops, and outright fabrications than the Trump campaign," Matt Wolking, a spokesperson for the [DeSantis-supporting Never Back Down PAC](), told the *Verge*. "It is 100 percent true that Donald Trump empowered and embraced Fauci — he even gave him a presidential commendation." When asked to confirm whether the images were in fact AI-generated, however, Wolking failed to answer, telling the *Verge* that they'd "have to ask the campaign." Similarly, in what appears to be an attempt at a clap back, Pushaw took to Twitter on Wednesday to [share a screenshot]() of a recent Trump post to Truth Social in which the former president is seen sharing an obviously fake photo of DeSantis riding a rhino. (The term "[RINO]()" is a popular right-wing acronym meaning "Republican in name only.") "I think this might be an AI-generated image," Pushaw captioned the screenshot. "Who knows?" And, well, sure, [Trump definitely hasn't been one to shy away from AI-generated imagery](). Nor [has the Republican National Convention]() (RNC), for that matter. But three wrongs don't make a "whatever, he did it too," and the concept of an image being *plausible* — as Wolking argues — versus the fact of an image being, uh, *real* are two very different things. And besides, this isn't a Trump versus DeSantis ethics debate. This is a debate about the ethics of using AI-powered deepfake tech in political messaging at *all*, especially in instances like this one where synthetic content [hasn't been overtly labeled]() as such. Of course, whether deepfaked and otherwise AI-generated content will actually have much — if any — impact in the way of voter mobilization still remains to be seen. After all, most AI-made imagery is less than convincing. But as a collective, we also seem to be [moving closer to a world]() where deepfakes are more or less ubiquitous, and reality is simultaneously [easier to manipulate]() and harder to parse. By DeSantis campaign rules, if you can't find an image of a former president smooching a controversial top aide on the White House press stage, you can apparently just whip one with an AI image generator. Is that really how we want any presidential campaign to behave? **More on AI and 2024:** [*Donald Trump Shares Slightly Misfigured AI-Generated Image of Himself Praying*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()