White House posts AI image of Donald Trump as The Mandalorian for Star Wars Day, and even the flag has a problem

The White House posted an AI-generated image of Donald Trump as The Mandalorian on Star Wars Day. The image was shared on the White House’s official social media accounts and shows Trump dressed as Din Djarin, the armored bounty hunter from the popular TV series. He is holding a U.S. flag and standing next to Grogu, also known as Baby Yoda.

The caption on the post reads, “In a galaxy that demands strength – America stands ready. This is the way. May the 4th be with you.” The image quickly drew attention online, and not in a good way, as fans and critics began pointing out several problems with it. The post spread rapidly across platforms, with thousands of users sharing and commenting on it within hours, according to Buzzfeed.

One of the most obvious issues is the American flag shown in the image. It has only 11 stripes instead of the correct 13 stripes, which have been part of the U.S. flag since 1777. The error sparked a lot of debate online, with many people questioning how such a basic mistake made it through on an official White House post. The flag’s design has remained consistent for centuries, making the error hard to overlook.

The White House’s AI-generated Star Wars posts keep missing the mark

This is not the first time the White House has used AI to create Star Wars-themed images of Trump. In 2025, they posted an image of Trump as a Jedi wielding a lightsaber while surrounded by bald eagles. At the time, many people pointed out that it was an odd choice, since red lightsabers are associated with the Sith, not the Jedi. That post also received its fair share of criticism, but the latest image appears to have drawn an even stronger reaction.

The new image became a laughingstock on social media, where fans started creating their own Star Wars edits in response. Many of the top-voted comments on the post featured AI-generated images recasting Trump as Jabba the Hutt and other Star Wars characters. Some users even replaced Baby Yoda with Russian President Vladimir Putin in their edits. This comes as world leaders have been publicly showing support for Trump on several recent occasions.

The timing of the post also raised eyebrows because Disney is currently running a publicity campaign for the upcoming film The Mandalorian & Grogu, which opens in theaters on May 22, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The movie features Pedro Pascal reprising his role as Din Djarin and is a continuation of the hit TV show. 

Many saw the White House’s post as an attempt to ride the wave of the film’s promotion, though the execution left a lot to be desired. Given the film’s high-profile release on the horizon, the White House’s clumsy tie-in only added to the mockery surrounding the post.

Lucasfilm, the production company behind the Star Wars franchise, has not commented on the image. The company had not indicated any connection to or endorsement of the White House post. It is also worth noting that using recognizable Star Wars characters and imagery without permission raises questions about intellectual property, though no formal complaint has been reported. 

Meanwhile, the administration has been dealing with other controversies, including Trump making remarks that raised constitutional concerns that the White House was forced to address publicly. As the responses on social media showed, the public reaction was largely negative and mocking. Fans used the post as an opportunity to make jokes and create parody content, which ended up overshadowing the original image entirely. 

The comment sections across platforms were flooded with edited versions of the image, with users showing far more creativity than the original post itself. What was likely intended as a lighthearted Star Wars Day message ended up becoming one of the more widely ridiculed posts to come from an official White House account in recent memory.